An Alliance of Friends
by Pagan Twylight
Summary: Jolinar does not die. Sam remains her host. They work toward an Alliance between the Tau'ri and Tok'Ra even as they start wars between System Lords, steal motherships, & rescue Sha'uri. Martouf/Lantash join them at the SGC. Sam/Jolinar/Martouf/Lantash
1. Beating the Odds Ch 1 AAOF

_**An Alliance of Friends**_ _was written for the Tok'Ra Resistance 2011 Fic Contest and uses the following plot bunnies/challenges:_

_**Plot Bunny # 1. **Sam/Jolinar, and SG-1. Write an alternate version of the ending of the season 2 episode, IN THE LINE OF DUTY. Jolinar and Sam both must live. Will Sam become a willing Tok'ra? Will they let Jolinar go through the Gate at last to find a new host if she doesn't? (Sam decides to stay host so the last sentence is irrelevant.)_

_**Plot Bunny # 2. **SGC has captured what they think is a Goa'uld (thought he was human first, but during an attack his eyes glow - the SG-team capture him and take him to the SGC). He will not tell them anything, including his name. Sam sees him and realizes who he is - a Tok'ra. Martouf/Lantash. Before Tok'ra I&II, but after ITLOD. _

_**Story Summary:**__The episode "In The Line Of Duty" is rewritten so that Jolinar lives, and Sam decides to remain her host. Because of the Ashrak attack on them, Jolinar has lost some rather important memories and information pertaining to her base and a traitor. She knew their name before the Ashrak attack; however, now, she cannot remember it. Nor can she remember who her mates are. Her memories are slowly returning, but they fear that the Tok'Ra base may be attacked, before she can remember who it is, since the traitor has all the information he needs. While SG-1 are on a top priority rescue, SG-6 'captures' a Goa'uld, but something about him doesn't add up, and Hammond suspects that he, too, is Tok'Ra; although, he will not give even his name. When Sam/Jolinar return, they recognize him, as a Tok'Ra, from their base. They continue to work toward meeting and allying with the Tok'Ra._

_In addition to **In The Line Of Duty,** the episodes of **Thor's Chariot, Secrets,** and both **Tok'Ra I and II** are rewritten (in some places fairly drastically) and referenced._

_**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret Productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment, not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognized characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author_

_**Rating : M** There are sections that are M…..Please be aware and if you come to a section and it makes you uncomfortable, they can be safely skipped, as the story line is not hindered by cutting them out. These will be edited for posting on fan fiction dot net.  
_

_**Pairing:** Sam/Martouf/Lantash _

_**Chapter One Summary: **The Ashrak breaches the halls of the SGC and reaches Jolinar and Sam. Before he can finish killing them, Jack and Teal'c kill him; however, Jolinar is dying. Sam comes to consciousness long enough to tell Janet to save her, if there is any way to do so, because she is not Goa'uld. Consternation follows, but knowing that it was Sam talking to her, and not the Goa'uld, Janet does her very best to do as she asks._

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter One**_

_**Beating the Odds**_

* * *

"Hear this. The days of the Goa'uld System Lords are numbered. Tell them that I died with hope. My death only feeds the fire that burns strong within the Tok'Ra."

"_If it is within my power you will not die, Samantha. I am sorry for bringing this upon you," J_olinar spoke through the pain, as she attempted to shield Sam from the Hara'kash and death.

"_It's not your fault. I've seen your memories. Try to survive this, Jolinar. We must let my people know. We have to, ah…we have to survive…for all of us,_" Sam gasped, as the pain filtered through. _"We—must—survive." _

"_I am—trying, Samantha, I—am doing all that I—can. If—nothing else you—will survive and—tell them—tell them—of the Tok'Ra," _Her last words were whispered, as both of them fell into the darkness that tasted of death.

The door crashed open and Teal'c and O'Neill took in the situation in a glance. With no thought at all, Teal'c opened fire on what appeared to be an airman leaning over Captain Carter, as O'Neill also took action, using his sidearm. Thank the gods, he had insisted on having his staff weapon, while they hunted the Ashrak. Between the two of them, the Ashrak had no chance to defend himself or subjugate them to his will. Within seconds, he lie dead upon the floor. O'Neill ran to the cell, as Teal'c stepped forward to make very sure that the Ashrak was indeed as dead as they believed him to be. To make very, very sure, he reached out and snapped his neck, in such a way, as to snap the Goa'uld symbiote's, as well. They were now not only dead, but doubly, definitely dead.

Airmen scrambled into the room behind them. "Carter's alive, get a med team down here," O'Neill barked, at the stunned men standing and staring at them.

Knowing that time was of the essence, Teal'c did not wait to see if there would be any other orders. Pushing O'Neill out of the way, he bent down, picked Sam up, and began to run for the infirmary. In his mind, there was no point in waiting for a med team to arrive when he could have her there, before they could even reach the holding cells. Calling back over his shoulder to the still somewhat stunned airmen, he gave his orders, "Notify the infirmary that we are on our way and that Captain Carter is in very critical condition."

Not bothering to repeat Teal'c's words, Jack simply added, "Now!" They did not doubt that Dr. Fraiser would be ready when they reached the infirmary.

A gurney was waiting at the door when they entered and Dr. Fraiser took over. She immediately straddled Sam and started CPR, all the time calling out orders, "Let's get her on the table. I want an EKG and an EEG stat!" Climbing off Sam, they prepared to lift her onto the table. "Okay, on my count. Three, two, one, good. Where's my epi? 1 milligram. Epi's in…"

O'Neill had never felt so helpless…or so guilty. Sam tried to tell him. So had the snake, whatshername. He admitted now, at least to himself, that it had been Sam talking to him that one time. He didn't know how he knew, really, he just did. Teal'c had been more cautious all along, but then he had heard of the Tok'Ra, or whatever they called themselves. A snake was a snake, though…well, wasn't it? Although, why it let Carter loose to try to talk to him, he didn't know. He just hoped Carter survived, so he could find out.

He glanced over and saw the SF's taking up positions around the bed and catching one of their eyes he indicated they should go out and stand guard in the hall. If she got out of here, which was unlikely, they could get her then. They didn't need them in here in the way.

After they took up positions in the hall, he turned back to the drama going on within the room. Time crawled by, and he and Teal'c watched, feeling utterly useless. He felt as if they had been there for hours, and yet, he knew it probably wasn't more than five or ten minutes, at the most, and doubtless even less time had passed. Staring blankly as the medical team continued to hover over Carter like so many bees over a field of clover, he suddenly became more alert, as he realized that something was going on.

As the medic and Fraiser worked frantically to save Sam, the medic paused, reporting, "Pulse is erratic."

Dr. Fraiser nodded, as she watched a screen. "We're getting feedback from the EEG." She frowned at the readings she was seeing. "What the hell? What is this?"

The medic gazed at it for a moment, before answering, "Looks like interference. I think…I think there are, uh, two signals."

Agreeing with him, Dr. Fraiser snapped, "Isolate them! We could be picking up separate brain waves from the parasite! This could help to tell us a little about what's going on in her brain."

As they watched the screen, O'Neill stepped closer, looking at the screen with them, "Doc? What is that?"

Janet Fraiser sighed, "I don't know; I've never dealt with this type of situation before. The Goa'uld looks like it's dying and taking Sam with it."

The medic tells them quietly, "The—the Goa'uld is getting progressively weaker."

Sam's eyes slowly opened. "Jan—Janet."

Barely able to hear her, Janet leaned forward, as Sam continued to whisper, "Do—do everything you—can to—save her. Not—not a Goa'uld. She's Not. Not. Save her! Please. Just—trust me and—do it."

Janet straightened as Sam once more passed into unconsciousness. She looked at Jack, for a moment, and then turned to the medic. Let's try…"

"Doc! How do you know that was Carter? What if it's just the snake trying to survive?"

Janet looked at him and shook her head. "No. It was Sam, Colonel. The parasite is dying. It couldn't have been it and besides that…it was Sam's brain waves that were active, not the—the, not the symbiote's brain waves. Hers were continuing to weaken even as Sam talked to us. No, Colonel, it was definitely Sam, and she meant everything she said. I have no way of knowing what she knows, but she knows something, or she wouldn't have told me to do this. Sam wouldn't lie about stuff like this, well, or much of anything that I can think of anyway. If she said save it…I trust her, and I'll do my very best." Turning to the nurse that handed her a syringe, she closed her eyes as she brought up an image of the Goa'uld's she and Sam had examined and studied. If she was right, then the heart should be about…she turned Sam's head and injected it into what she hoped would be the symbiote's heart."

Jack backed away as Janet turned her attention back to the medic, continued to give instructions, and began to follow Sam's request. He was bewildered, but the Doc said that was Sam talking. There was no way it could have been the snake. It was much too weak…dying in fact, and the brain waves were Carter's brain waves.

"Get me another epi. The Goa'uld is still getting weaker. She's going to flat-line." This time, though, she turned Sam's head a little farther and tilted her head downward when she injected the symbiote. "Give me another one." She had no idea how much of this stuff a symbiote could take, but if it helped, good, if not—if not well, it, she, would die if she didn't do it, so…either way, it wasn't a good choice. She frowned; of course, she supposed there was always the chance that it could affect Sam in a negative way. Maybe. Did the symbiote automatically release this stuff into the host? Oh, god, she didn't know. Her lips firmed. Sam wanted this. A lot. Besides there was still a chance that, even though Sam was stabilizing, that could go the other way and she would die with the symbiote.

In the few seconds it took her to mull the options over, she made her decision. After all, there was the very real possibility that she missed its heart. She'd try again, anyway. Looking up from studying the brain waves and seeing no change in the symbiotes, except to continue downward, she snapped out, "Roll her on her side, I want better access. Hurry, the, um, the symbiote is continuing to weaken. I'm going to want some more epi after this one, so get it ready." The medics and nurses looked at her in surprise, but only for a moment. Then they sprang into action getting what the doctor ordered.

Once again bringing up her mental map of the symbiote's organs, as best she could, she felt carefully along Sam's spine, and she thought she could just make out a very small section where the symbiote lay. It was completely unnoticeable unless you were looking for it specifically. She was fairly sure that she had been spot on with the other injection. The distance from where the symbiote was attached, to where she injected her should have been exactly where her heart should be. Hoping she was correct and wasn't just injecting this stuff into the symbiote's body, she plunged the needle in and injected it one more time.

Now they waited to see if there was any effect at all. They all watched the brain waves that were slowly diminishing. Nothing. Not one thing. She held her hand out for the other syringe, and then realized that something _was_ happening, something was different. There was more activity and—yes, it had stopped weakening. She immediately inserted the next needle and dispensed that syringe into the same place. And waited. Again, nothing at first, and then, there it was. Gradually there was more activity. Moreover, it was slightly stronger.

Glancing around at her team, she wondered if any of them were breathing. They all had their eyes glued to that set of brain waves. Sam's, too, was stronger and more active. She bit her lip. Would it be too much if she gave it one more cc of epi? It seemed to help, but she had no idea how much to give it. She glanced over and saw that her ears were hearing correctly. Both Heartbeats were stronger and steadier. She would hold off and keep watch. After a few minutes the improvement, though significant, was no longer increasing. Decision time. Taking the syringe, Janet injected it holding her breath that she wasn't giving it too much.

They all waited. It didn't take as long this time for a change to happen. "Doctor Fraiser, she is steadying. No longer bordering on de-fib. Weak, but steady—both of them." Shortly thereafter the nurse announced, "We have a normal rhythm and it's getting stronger. Both of them are now steady and strengthening." The nurse didn't really need to tell them, they could all hear it, but still, it was nice to hear it said aloud and confirmed. Both of their heartbeats were steady and stronger by the minute. If she could have, Janet would have collapsed right where she stood. She didn't think she'd ever been this tense over any procedure she'd ever done. Treating an alien species and not having any idea at all if you were helping it, or killing it, was very stressful.

Janet was still watching the brain waves. They were both fairly strong and getting stronger. "She, er, _they_ are still unconscious. But, and I have no idea if it will last, but for now…they're both stable. I just hope I did the right thing." Hearing footsteps come up behind her, Janet turned toward O'Neill. "They aren't out of the woods, but they're on a path for now. We can only hope it doesn't suddenly end."

Daniel suddenly skidded into the room. "I just heard…how's Sam? What's going on? The report I got was kind of confusing."

Jack turned to him, "For now, they're stable, I guess. Now, we wait to see if it lasts. Right, Doc?"

"Yes, Colonel. Now, we wait."

"They? I was told that the assassin got them, then someone else said that, no, Sam was still alive, but they thought she was dying, too," Daniel gave them a confused look. "I guess I didn't get something right, but I could've sworn they said that the…" He stopped with an arrested expression on his face, before continuing, "I misunderstood. I just assumed that if the assassin _got_ them, then the Goa'uld was dead. They probably said that he got '_to'_ them." Daniel sighed.

"Captain Carter awoke, for a few moments, and instructed Dr. Fraiser to save the symbiote, if at all possible. It appears, if one thinks logically about the situation, that she was telling the truth, and Jolinar is Tok'Ra. If this proves to be the situation, then we are fortunate indeed," Teal'c gave a clear statement of what occurred.

Daniel's eyes rounded. "So, the—the, um, the, well, it's still in Sam?" Then realizing exactly what Teal'c said, he turned back to him, incredulous, "_Sam_ wanted it saved? How do we know it was Sam and not the Goa'uld talking?" Daniel's gaze was skeptical. "I thought we didn't trust anything it said, so…what's changed now?"

O'Neill frowned. "Doc Fraiser said the snake was dying, and it couldn't possibly be the one that was talking…and that it was Carter's brain that was active, while the snake was just getting weaker."

Daniel frowned, as he looked at his friend lying on the table. Was it possible? Was there really such a thing as a Tok'Ra? Teal'c said there was, and that he had heard of Jolinar of Malk'shur. According to him, she fought beside Egeria and was an extremely highly placed System Lord, with her own armies and worlds. She was defeated but eluded capture. She had worked with the Tok'Ra ever since then…and been hunted by the System Lords, as they now knew for a fact. Furthermore, if there '_was'_ a resistance group working against the Goa'uld, what did that mean to them and their own fight against the System Lords? It took only seconds for his brilliant mind to lay out the possibilities and results.

He looked over at O'Neill from where he was studying Sam, stating, "Jack, if this is true, then Teal'c is absolutely right." He paused and Jack looked at him somewhat blankly, he added, "You do realize, that we may have found one of the most important allies we will ever find, don't you?"

"Yeah? How's that, Daniel? Do you really think she'll be very willing to help us after we locked her up and almost allowed her to be killed…as she told us, she would be, I might point out. In fact, she told us that we wouldn't be able to stop him from getting to her and Sam. And she was damned right."

Daniel shook his head, and then drawing a long, deep breath, he placed his hand on Jack's arm, as he pointed out, "I don't think that we should jump to conclusions, before we know more. Sam must know or sense something. She may even have talked to her." He frowned. "Well, that doesn't sound much like a Goa'uld, which physically she is, so maybe not." He shook his head again, as he sorted through his thoughts—and conflicting emotions. "I still believe that Sam knows something important about this, er, the symbiote. She wouldn't have asked Janet to do what she could to save, um, it, her…whatever."

"I believe, Daniel Jackson, that, as it is with the Goa'uld, they, in all probability, take on the gender of their host, which would make _'it' a 'her',_" Teal'c pointed out, clarifying it for all of them at the same time.

"Oh, um, right. Okay, then, her. Sam must know something about or from her. Think about it for a minute, Jack. Sam would rather have died than stay the host of a Goa'uld, if she couldn't be freed. You know that's a fact. I think we _all_ know that's a fact. Now, that being a true statement, we can extrapolate that Sam knows something important. I don't know in what way—whether to the SGC or to Earth, but, either way, it's important enough that she '_chose_ _to remain a host'_ and to save the Goa'uld that took her."

"I concur with Daniel Jackson. Captain Carter would not willingly remain a host without a very good reason," Teal'c once again gave his opinion, something he did not often do. Which, that being the case, made his opinions that much more valuable—not to mention that he was almost always right.

O'Neill sighed, as he watched Dr. Fraiser keeping a very close watch on Carter. "Okay, okay, yeah, I have to agree she wouldn't want to do that. But, let me stay just a little skeptical for now. As far as you being right…I hope so, Daniel. If—and I guess it _is_ still an _'if'_, they survive, maybe the, she, will let Sam tell us."

Daniel nodded, but he also seemed to relax somewhat. "She'll…um, that is, they'll make it, Jack. I would bet that neither of them are really ready to give up and die." Before Jack could respond, he changed the subject, telling them, "The Nasyans are back home, no problems, and we have a team there helping them to get things cleaned up and, well, bury the dead and stuff. The team should be back in a couple of days."

Dr. Fraiser walked up to them. "They seem to be holding their own. I'm going to set them up in ICU with around that clock observation, until I see what's going to happen. If things begin to go south again, well, I want them where I have the equipment I need. You guys can sit with her, if you want to, as long as you don't make a lot of noise, and, oh, you all know the drill. Just, just don't get in the way, okay?"

"Sure, Doc, no problem. We might take turns or something later, if it looks like she's doing better or, well, or something." Jack wasn't exactly sure what to say or do at this point.

"Could I see her for a minute, Janet? Just, you know, just to look at her, before you take her into ICU."

Dr. Fraiser smiled tiredly, before telling him, "Sure, Daniel, go ahead, but for a very short minute or so. We're getting ready to move her now." She glanced over her shoulder and frowned, as she realized that no one was with Sam. "Go now and stay until the medic gets back."

Nodding to her, Daniel lost no time in taking the few strides that took him to Sam's bedside. He was thankful that no one was there. Glancing back at the others, he was glad to see them engrossed in a conversation, which the General took that moment to join. Good, it would take a bit to fill him in. Turning back to Sam, he took her hand in his before leaning down and whispering, "I'm sorry, Sam. I should've tried harder to get them to listen to me, and to talk to you, um, to uh, Jolinar. We should've listened and—I'm sorry we didn't. Come back to us, Sam, so I can make it up to you. I should've, well, anyway, come back to us, even if, well, even if you still need to get the, um, her, out of you. We'll find a way." He frowned, "Well, we'll find a way, if that's what you want, I guess. According to Janet, you wanted it—her—saved, so I guess I'm not sure what that means, yet. Just, just get better soon. Come back to us. Please."

Daniel straightened, as he sensed the medic's return. He looked at the monitor and turned to him, nodding his head at it, asking, "What exactly am I seeing on there? What does it mean?"

The medic looked uncomfortable for a minute. He wasn't sure if this was something he could talk about or not, although he could see no reason not to tell him. He started to, but then sighed with relief, as he saw Dr. Fraiser and the General leaving Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c and making their way to them. As soon as they were close enough he didn't have to raise his voice, he repeated Daniel's question, "Dr. Fraiser, Dr. Jackson was just asking me about the monitor and what we were seeing on it. I, um, wasn't sure I should, um, could, er, could explain it well enough."

Realizing that the poor man was both trying to tell her that he hadn't said anything and that the question had been asked, she smiled at him, waving him away before explaining to both Daniel and General Hammond, "As you can see there are two sets of brainwaves, as well as two sets of heartbeats and pulses. I attached the symbiote to the machine as well and evidently I was able to get it close enough to its, er, '_her_', heart that it's giving us readings from her as well as from Captain Carter. What we're beginning to see is that their systems are beginning to coordinate. Their heart rhythms are synchronizing, as are their pulses. The, um, she…Jolinar, doesn't appear to have respirations, which makes sense. She probably absorbs it somehow through the host. That's what we're seeing on a physical level. I would guess that, when we do blood work, I'll find that Sam is absorbing chemicals and hormones from the—from Jolinar."

She then pointed to the screen that Daniel originally asked about, telling them, "This set of brainwaves is Sam's. This one is, um, Jolinar's waves. As you can see, Sam's brain is much more active at the moment. A short while ago, we saw slightly more activity from the para—that is, from Jolinar, but it didn't last very long. That's another reason I believe that it was definitely Sam that talked to us for those few moments. At the time, Jolinar's brainwaves had almost completely stopped as she was near death, so…it had to be Sam talking without any input from Jolinar."

General Hammond nodded his understanding of her explanation. "Then once we see these, er, waves, become more active, we'll know that the—the, well, that she is, what(?) talking to Captain Carter? Or would it indicate that she might simply be thinking? Is there any way to tell the difference, Doctor?"

Janet sighed to herself. Normally, she would say, yes, they could tell if she was awake, dreaming, talking, as the waves would each vary, but they were talking about an alien species. They were lucky to have any brainwaves at all, and luckier still that they had, so far, interpreted what they were seeing correctly. So, the answer was…maybe. Deciding that much, she turned back to him saying, "General, if we were looking at a human brainwave, I would say yes, we could tell. However, this is an unknown alien species. We were lucky that dying brainwaves look pretty much the same in her species. Will the remainder of the waves do the same? I tend to doubt it." She stopped speaking and frowned as she looked at the monitor. "Actually, their waves right now are also very similar. It could very well be that they _will_ be similar enough that we can get a fairly good idea. We'll be able to tell when she's actively doing something, be it dreaming, talking, or thinking, but as to whether we can pinpoint which is which? As I said, I have my doubts; however, I'll wait to see what shows up in her brainwaves, before I give you a positive yes or no."

General Hammond gave a decisive nod of his head, before answering her, "Fair enough, Doctor. I can't and don't expect miracles from you. That you saved her is probably a feat in and of itself. I'm amazed that you managed to bring Captain Carter to consciousness at all."

Janet Fraiser shook her head, "I didn't do that, General. That was all Sam. Evidently, what she had to say was so important that it pushed her body to produce enough chemicals to bring her to consciousness, if only for a few moments."

"I see. Well, I suppose that how it happened isn't as important as the fact that it did happen."

"Yes, Sir. I agree."

Daniel looked at them, and shook his head, saying, "I'm not so sure that's true. That it isn't important, I mean. I think it's very significant, if you take into consideration that, what she had to say was so important to her, that Sam managed to reach consciousness just long enough to tell us to save the Goa'uld in her head. Basically, she was telling us that she was a willing host at this point. I think that's very important."

Both the General and Janet Fraiser looked at him, as they truly thought about what he said. Frowning, as he thought Daniel's statement over and looked at it from several angles, he finally nodded, replying, "When looked at from that point of view, you are absolutely correct, Dr. Jackson."

Janet nodded, before reminding the General, "Sam did, repeat and put emphasis on it, when she told me that Jolinar was not Goa'uld. She insisted she was Tok'Ra. She told me those things more than once, General."

"We'll know when they wake up one way or the other. Do what you can Doctor, and for now, we'll go on the Captain's words."

The medic cleared his throat, as he realized that their conversation was about to end. As they looked at him, he nodded to her, saying, "We are ready to move the Captain into the ICU, Dr. Fraiser."

"Good. Let's get this done."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Daniel and the General left the room, Daniel to join O'Neill and Teal'c where they stationed themselves out of the way in the ICU and the General to return to his office. It could be a very long vigil.

* * *

"_Samantha, I will soon have the damage done to you repaired. At that time, I will begin to heal myself. I did heal the most threatening of the wounds, as I would not otherwise have been able to tend to you." _

"_That's okay. Um, are we going to wake up soon? I have to believe that we're unconscious." _

"_Yes, we're unconscious except to ourselves. At least, to those I can sense watching over us, we appear to be unconscious and I will keep us so, until I heal you completely. However, before I return to healing you, I wish to know where we are. Are we with our people? I do not wish to awaken in a Goa'uld prison without foreknowledge. It is obvious that we have been tortured." _Sam 'saw' Jolinar frown in her mind's eye, before she continued, _"As severe as the damage to us was, I am surprised they did not leave us in a sarcophagus long enough to heal us, as well as reanimate us, if that is indeed where we are. If we were with our people they would be using a healing device on us, so we are not there." _

Sam could hear the question still in her voice, but she was thinking as quickly as she could herself, _"Jolinar, don't you remember what happened to us?" _

The frown was even more pronounced this time. _"No, I do not believe that I do." _

Feeling Jolinar's rising panic, Sam soothed her, as well as she could, _"Calm down, before you alarm those taking care of us. I'm surprised either of us remember our names, let alone anything else. We—the Ashrak hunting you found us, and he was torturing us to death. I believe we were very close to being in that state. I have to assume that something interrupted him." _

"_Ashrak? There was an Ashrak hunting us? Do you—do you know why?" _

"_Well, no, actually, I don't. We—ah, only blended a short time ago. You jumped into me when your host was wounded and dying. I believe you were hiding from the Ashrak in the Nasyan man." _

Sam felt Jolinar recoil as if she had struck her. _"Are you telling me that I took you against your will? That I have taken an unwilling host?" _

"_Um, well, I'm not really sure, actually. If you mean did I invite you in, well, after seeing some of your memories, I think that maybe I did. If you mean did you ask permission first, well then, no you didn't." _

Sam heard what was definitely a moan from the symbiote. _ "I have broken our highest law. I must leave you at once. You will survive now without me. I will awaken us and…" _

As Jolinar rushed to assure Sam that she would not force her to stay with her, Sam broke into her hurried assurances, _"Jolinar, Jolinar, stop. Stop it." _Sam's voice, calm and firm cut through her rapidly racing words. _"Listen to me. Just, just listen. We got off to a very bad start. I realize now that you were very frightened yourself. I thought you were Goa'uld, and I fought you constantly. It was only just before he found us that we actually, well, talked to one another. I believe that you have information you need to get to your people. I—I guess this means you don't remember it. As for leaving me, well, no, you won't. Maybe later, after we find your people, you remember your information, after…well, after things kind of calm down some. We might have trouble with my people, since we've never heard of the Tok'Ra before we, um, ran into you" _

Jolinar nodded, but her mind went back to what seemed to be concerning her most. _"Captain Carter, why did you say that you believe that I might have thought you offered yourself?" _

"_You, um, blend(?) through the mouth. I was doing something we call CPR and I was trying to breath for the man. My mouth was over yours just, well, just as it would have been if we were blending. I think that in the confusion you very probably mistook my first aid for an offer of a new, um, host." _

She sighed, _"Yes, you are correct, Captain Carter, and I very well might have in those conditions…more especially if I have some important information to relay to my people. These blanks are frustrating,"_ she murmured.

"_Call me Sam. Captain Carter will become old really fast,"_ Sam told her with a brief smile. Then she continued, _"Listen, Jolinar, you need to put us back into resting mode, while you finish healing. We both need to be in really good shape because there are going to be lots and lots of questions." _

"_Yes, I believe that you are correct. Very well. It will take several more hours and then we shall awaken." _

"_Good. Just do a good job, don't rush. They can't find out anything without us." _

She heard a very slight chuckle from her new…new what? New, um, live in roommate. Sure took that idea to a whole new level.

* * *

Jack sat leaning forward, his elbows resting on his thighs, his hands hanging limply between his legs. Teal'c looked like he was in meditation. Daniel was watching the screen showing the brainwaves. The nurse was puttering on the other side of the room. If anything happened the alarms would go off, it wasn't necessary to sit and watch her constantly now that they were both stable.

When the increased activity began, Daniel was on his feet, across the floor, and his finger was pushing the call button, before anyone else in the room was even aware that he had moved. The nurse hurried over, and seeing what Daniel was watching, she began checking things…nothing was wrong that she could see, so that was good. Very good.

Janet came through the door almost at a run, and Daniel immediately turned to her, saying, "All of a sudden both of the brainwave patterns changed and became very active. They still are."

Janet nodded, and did the same check the nurse did. Nothing was going south, so apparently nothing was wrong. She began to watch the screen closely, and then she shook her head at what she was seeing.

"What's up, Doc? What's going on? Are they…are they still okay?" Jack couldn't bring himself to say dying.

"Yes, Colonel, they appear to be quite fine. In fact, Sam's vitals, everything is pretty much back to normal. The, um, Jolinar, I don't know of course."

Jack frowned at her, "Then what does all of that—that squiggly stuff mean?"

They all looked toward the door as the General joined them. Having heard Jack's question, he nodded to the Doctor, telling her, "Go on, Dr. Fraiser. I believe this is something we are all wondering."

Janet drew in a breath and blew it out, then drew another before saying, "Well, I would have said that the readings you are seeing now are impossible. I know I said that if they were talking to each other it would show up, but I really didn't believe that could happen." She nodded toward the screen. "I've just been proved wrong. They are still unconscious, but they are communicating in some way. See how this peaks here and then this? And while that is happening, Sam's is almost back to a very quiet rhythm. If I had to interpret this, I would say that here, Jolinar is talking, and now, see how it switched? Now, Sam is answering her. They are having a conversation—while they are unconscious." She stood staring at it shaking her head at what she was seeing.

They all stood for quite some time and quietly watched the two interact. At one time, Jolinar's brainwaves became very agitated. It was very obvious that Sam began to talk to her, as both brainwaves showed intense activity for a short time. Even to those watching, it was apparent that, as Sam talked to her, Jolinar slowly calmed, until she was back to what, for her anyway, was normal.

The waves reverted as suddenly as they changed. There was no change in their unconscious state, and yet, they had been communicating. She was sure of it. "They are still unconscious. There isn't anything we can do for them, at the moment, except to monitor them and watch them for any change. I have no idea how long they may stay in this state. I'm not sure it isn't self-induced, or perhaps Jolinar induced. I have no idea why, but I know that Sam is better than she was. You should start to take shifts or something. This could last a while."

Looking at each other, they sighed. The Doc was probably right. "I'll take first watch. One of you can relieve me in a few hours."

"I will meditate so that I will be rested, if we must continue our vigil throughout the night," Having made his intentions clear, Teal'c bowed slightly and left.

Daniel nodded. "I'll be in my office. I'll be back in three hours, Jack, and if anything happens between now and then, you'll contact me, right?"

O'Neill nodded briefly, "Yeah, Daniel, I'll call if she wakes up or…anything else." He still couldn't bring himself to say dies. If she did, it was his fault. He made the call not to believe she knew better than he did. Well, he'd been proven wrong in spades.

Daniel nodded and headed for his office, not that he would accomplish much. His mind was with Sam. He probably wouldn't be able to concentrate, but he'd at least try.

* * *

"Hey, Jack. Any change?"

O'Neill shook his head. "No, Daniel they've been the same ever since you left. Nothing, not even a blip. Whatever happened before, it's definitely over."

"Give it time. From what I understand they were pretty close to dying. It could take a while for their brain tissue to recover, you know. Don't get discouraged, yet."

"Sure, Daniel." He stretched and rolled his shoulders, after he stood. If anything happens. Let me know. I'll be in my office."

Daniel nodded and watched him walk out the door. He took the chair and moved it closer to the bed. He wanted to be close when she woke up. He sighed. _If_ she woke up.

Three hours later, both Jack and Teal'c were back, but they all sat quietly. Again, it was Daniel that noticed the change. He hit the call button and again, Janet was there almost immediately.

As she watched the brainwaves, it was obvious that they had changed yet again. They were now in a normal sleep pattern. In fact, everything they were monitoring was showing a normal healthy adult. All Janet could do was shake her head.

"What's wrong, Janet?" Daniel asked, breaking into what was obviously some disbelief. "What's wrong with Sam that you aren't telling us?"

"Nothing, Daniel. Absolutely nothing. Sam is normal and healthy, in every way." They all blinked at her, and she smiled wryly, "Yeah, I know. I find it hard to believe, too, but everything is back to normal. She's sleeping. It's a deep sleep, but it is sleep. And her vitals are perfectly normal. It's as if nothing ever happened to her."

"The symbiote has healed her," Teal'c spoke up from where he stood next to Jack. "No doubt, she is now healing herself. She would have healed the most dangerous damage first, then returned and finished healing Captain Carter. Once her host was well, she would turn to her own wounds and heal them. They may sleep for quite some time, or Captain Carter may awaken before Jolinar. It will depend on how much energy Jolinar has expended. No doubt, she will remain dormant, until she is rested. It is now perfectly safe to remove all of your machines, Dr. Fraiser; there will be no need for them."

Janet opened her mouth to deny that it was safe, but then, she looked at all of her readouts. Teal'c was correct. There was no reason to keep her hooked up to anything. She sighed. "He's right, General. There is nothing wrong with Sam. Would you like for me to leave the brainwaves?"

General Hammond frowned in thought, "Will it help us any? Once they are both well, I mean?"

"It would probably tell us which of them is thinking or talking. Why I didn't think of this before I don't know. We could have told her what we wanted to do. She might have let us, if it would have convinced us that it really was Sam talking to us, not her using Sam's voice." She smiled sadly, saying, "Then again, maybe not. We weren't very open-minded at the time."

"Yeah, well, at the time we thought we were dealing with a Goa'uld, too," Jack told her.

"We will still be dealing with a Goa'uld, O'Neill. They are the same species. That, however, does not mean that they are all the same, any more than it means that all humans or all Jaffa are the same. I suggest we wait and see what Captain Carter has to tell us of Jolinar once she awakens." Teal'c was his normal practical self.

They returned to their previous chairs anxious for Sam to awaken…if it really was Sam.

TBC


	2. First NonCombative Contact Ch 2 AAOF

_**Chapter Two Summary: **__Sam awakens before Jolinar and begins to explain not only what happened, but just who and what Jolinar is. She also decides to keep Jolinar's missing memories to herself for the moment. She felt that the majority of her memories were intact; however, there were still some blanks about her personal and operative lives that eluded her. They would wait for now, since Jolinar felt that most would return eventually. One or two had already come back to her._

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Two**_

_**First Non-Combative Contact**_

* * *

Sam was now in an isolation room, mostly because they were still keeping a guard on her, not because she actually needed to be in isolation. In fact, according to Janet…and Teal'c…she was completely well and back to normal. She was sleeping heavily and Daniel could understand that. After all, she'd just gone through having her brain fried by an Ashrak, a Goa'uld assassin. The one that Jolinar warned them they would not catch, before he killed them. Well, she was pretty close to right. At the very end, Jack and Teal'c killed him, but Sam and the symbiote, Jolinar, almost died, as well. Now he was sitting and watching them sleep. Or, at least, he was sitting with them, although, since they were now supposedly quite well, he was working on a manuscript, while he waited for one or the other of them to awaken. Lost to the world around him, he didn't hear her…

"Hey, Daniel, could I have some water?" Sam's voice was scratchy, low, and didn't make a dent in Daniel's concentration. Realizing that she felt fine, except that she was thirsty, she sat up and, searching for the water, found it on the table next to the bed.

Her movement finally broke through Daniel's concentration, and his head jerked up, as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and began to lean toward it. He jumped to his feet, not sure what to do. Who, _exactly,_ was he facing?

Hearing him move, Sam turned her head and gazed at him with a slight smile on her lips and amusement in her eyes. "I did ask, Daniel, but you were concentrating too deeply to hear me, I guess." She cleared her throat and once more leaned toward the jug of water.

He sprang forward and grasped it, before she could reach it, and grabbed her glass, sloshing some water in it and holding it out to her, all the while watching her closely. He _'thought'_ it was Sam. There had definitely been amusement in her eyes. He glanced at the monitor and it was her brain waves that were active, so he relaxed a little, as she drank the water and held the glass out for more, since he was still clutching the jug of water. She made a face as he poured it, and he almost grinned. He would bet it was Sam. She disliked tepid water, which was what they almost always had off world. She complained about it all the time and had a habit of taking the coldest water she could find as they started off. She said that way; at least, the first drink or two wouldn't be so bad. On the other hand, she had once told him, the tepid water kept her from drinking as much as she would like to, which on occasion had worked out well, when they couldn't find water.

Clearing his throat, he looked at her more closely, as she drank this glass a little more slowly. "Ah, Sam? Is, um…it is Sam, right?"

She grinned at him. "Yeah, Daniel, it's me. Jolinar's still dormant. She's pretty much wiped out after all the healing she had to do on the two of us. The injuries were…severe, to say the least. We're lucky we still know our names, let alone anything else. She took her time and worked slowly. That's why I'm just now waking up. She healed herself to the point where she would be able to take care of me, and then once she healed me, she returned to finish with her own injuries. She said that she would probably remain dormant, for a while. As I said, she's very tired."

"So…she, um, she doesn't have control over you at—at all? I mean, you're all, um, you?" Daniel couldn't help it. He sounded incredulous.

Smiling wryly, Sam answered quietly, "No, Daniel, she doesn't, nor will she have from now on, unless I give it to her, or we are endangered, and she is better equipped to handle the problem." She saw him glancing at her brain waves and gave him a genuine smile, telling him, "I know. It doesn't sound anything like the Goa'uld with whom we've dealt. That's because…" She stopped talking for a moment, before continuing, "Daniel, I'm sure that you aren't the only one who is going to want to hear this. Shouldn't you call Janet, the Colonel, General Hammond, and Teal'c? I really don't want to repeat it over and over…although, something tells me I am going to have to anyway." Still, even discouraged at the thought of all the explaining ahead of her, no, them, she gave him a smile and added, "But hold that question, and ask it again when everyone is here. I'll answer it then; I promise you."

Flushing slightly, as he remembered that he was supposed to contact them all, if she awoke, he hit the call button and went to the nearby phone. Whether he realized it or not, Daniel trusted her already. He was standing with his back to her, and she would guess that the SFs were in the hall.

When he returned, she sighed and shook her head, before chiding him, "Daniel, you know better than to turn your back on a prisoner. We've taught you better than that."

Seeing Sam sitting on the edge of the bed and hearing her scold Daniel, for his breach of protocol, Janet grinned, as she came up to the bed. Just to be sure, she glanced at the monitor. It was definitely Sam. "How are you feeling, Sam? You certainly appear to be back to normal. Teal'c said that the, um, that Jolinar would have healed you and, since you appear perfectly healthy, I have to assume that she did. Is she all right, as well?"

"Yes, to all questions, Janet. She did, I am, and she is. And, Janet, thank you for saving her."

Before Janet could respond or either of them could ask any more questions, both Jack and Teal'c came into the room, followed closely by the General. She smiled at them, saying, "Colonel, Teal'c, General Hammond. I have to assume someone got to the Ashrak in time, and I want to thank them. I'm sure that Jolinar will want to thank them when she wakes up, too."

Jack stopped in his tracks and his jaw dropped. Then collecting his composure, he nodded, saying as nonchalantly as he could, "Oh, no problem, Carter. It was Teal'c and me. Glad to do it." He paused, before adding, "I am talking to Carter, right? This isn't the snake impersonating her again?"

It was Janet that answered his last question, "No, Colonel O'Neill, it isn't Jolinar." She nodded toward the screen. "As you can see, the, that is, Jolinar is still, um, I guess, sleeping, although," she paused as she studied the pattern on the screen, "It doesn't look like a true sleep pattern." She frowned and as she pondered it, the others waited. They needed to know for sure that they were talking to Sam. "It actually looks like…a cross between a coma and sleep. I've never seen a pattern like it before."

Sam spoke up quietly, explaining, "That's because you've probably never had anyone in this state of consciousness, Janet. Jolinar isn't asleep, and she isn't in a coma. She calls it being dormant, and I had the impression that it's an altered state where they can rest deeply and gain strength." She shrugged. "She told me that she would probably remain in it, for quite a while, after she brought us up to the sleep level. She stayed there with me, for a while, and then explained about it and put herself into this deeper state. She'll come back later, but you'll have to let me know if you want to talk to her personally. She won't take control, unless I allow it, now that we've blended and understand each other better."

The entire group simply stared at her. Finally, Jack blurted, "That's not possible, Carter. Goa'uld do _not_ give their hosts control, and they sure as hell don't ask permission, before they take over the body. I don't think you invited her in, so she had to just take you because you were handy, and that's a Goa'uld."

Sam sighed deeply and looked at all of them. Nodding, at his comments, she gave him a simple answer, "But then, while she is a member of the species known as the Goa'uld, Colonel…she's more. She is _Tok'Ra._" She turned from him to the General, "General Hammond, I am sure that that there have to be a lot of questions you want to ask me, while Jolinar is dormant, just as I'm sure you will want to talk to her, after you hear what I have to say. Do you want to go to the briefing room, or would you prefer to stay here—where you can watch the monitor?" She faced him calmly and that allayed many of his qualms.

"Which would you prefer Captain Carter?"

She smiled at him. "I would prefer the briefing room; however, I think that you would all feel better, if you can watch the monitor to be sure she hasn't snuck in and taken me over, so I'll answer your questions here. Perhaps you could have someone bring some comfortable chairs for all of you, and if someone would raise the head of the bed, I'll, ah, recline in comfort."

The General's lips twitched, but he nodded to the Colonel, who left to find some more decent chairs; since Daniel had the only comfortable one…they could bring them from the briefing room. General Hammond was quite sure now that he was talking to Samantha Carter. The symbiote was able to use her voice, but she couldn't duplicate her personality. At least, she couldn't before. He supposed that, if they stayed together long enough, she would be able to do a perfect imitation.

It wasn't very long at all before several Airmen entered with chairs, Colonel O'Neill behind them carrying one for himself. After everyone, including Janet, took a seat, Sam turned to Daniel, asking him, "Daniel, do you remember what you asked me earlier? The question I told you to hold onto for later?"

Daniel's brow wrinkled, but only for a moment before he answered her, "Yes, I do. I asked you, does she have any control over you at all?"

"Yes, that's pretty much what you asked, and I started to answer, but decided I wanted to tell everyone at once instead of one at a time. So, here's the story.

Jolinar could control me any time she wants to do so. You already know that, because, while she was trying to return to her people, she couldn't let me out. That, and I know you won't want to believe it, but it _is the truth_, was _my fault_ as much, well, actually, more than, it was hers." Seeing them about to start asking questions she held up her hand, "You'll understand that better as we go along, I promise. So, let's go back to the question. No, she doesn't have control of me, nor, from what I understand from our earlier discussion, will she have from now on, unless I give it to her, or we are endangered. If we are in peril, and she is better equipped to handle the problem, then she will take control, and do whatever needs to be done. Emergencies are emergencies. Period. No questions asked."

This time they all looked at the brain waves, and Sam smiled at them, saying, "I know. It doesn't sound anything like the Goa'uld with whom we've dealt. That's because… she isn't. As I said before, she is more than a Goa'uld. While she is of the same species as the Goa'uld we've dealt with, the Tok'Ra queen, Egeria, broke from the System Lords well over two thousand years ago. She disagreed with the way they treated the hosts. She didn't feel they were inferior or unworthy of respect, and she developed truly symbiotic relationships with her hosts. Of course, she didn't ask the first host, or even her second. It took a while for her to change her attitude, but once she did, she never looked back. From that time on, she asked every host, and if someone did not agree, she accepted that and continued to look, until she found someone that was willing to be a host. There are a lot of things I could tell you about her, but those are things you can learn later. I just felt it was important that you understand _'why'_ the Tok'Ra are different from the Goa'uld. The Goa'uld have genetic memory, and the Queen controls what's passed on to her offspring. Egeria passed her own feelings and beliefs about the hosts and host/symbiote relationships to hers. So, you see, although they could become Goa'uld, the need to conquer, rule, and oppress were left out of their genetic code, as was the streak of cruelty that the Goa'uld possess."

She paused frowning at her hands where they lie in her lap, before looking up and adding, "Don't misunderstand me. They can be every bit as cruel, and vicious, as some humans can be, and if the need arises, they will do whatever must be done, but it isn't an automatic part of them. On the other hand, they are not milquetoasts, so don't make the mistake of thinking they are. They are highly trained warriors and operatives. Don't underestimate them because they prefer to get along with and share with their hosts instead of subjugating them."

She paused once more, and then, knowing that Teal'c was aware of more facts about Jolinar, she told them, "There is one other thing about which you should all be aware, even though it will make you all uncomfortable. Jolinar of Malk'shur is Tok'Ra by choice, not by birth. She was born and lived as a Goa'uld for many years, several thousand at least, until she met and became friends with Egeria, and Egeria's host. Watching them interact, she found herself envying their relationship and determined to try it herself. She found that once she gave her a chance, she liked her own host, and as she came to understand Egeria's beliefs, she decided to join her. However, at one time, Jolinar commanded her own armies, had many worlds of her own, had slaves, the whole nine yards. She lost all of that fighting the other System Lords by Egeria's side. So, do not underestimate her, either. She controls herself; it is not coded into her, as it is Egeria's offspring. There are actually several Goa'uld that joined Egeria, and though many of them have died over the centuries of fighting the _'other'_ Goa'uld, there are still a few out there. She would want you to understand this, I think, because she is basically a very good, ah, 'being', with very human emotions."

She paused again to gather her thoughts and into the silence, Jack asked a question, "Well, Carter, if they are so great, and they ask permission and all, why didn't she ask you instead of just _'taking'_ you?"

"That's a good question, Colonel, and the answer will no doubt surprise you, but the truth is that…she didn't '_just take me'_." She held up her hand again, as he began to speak, "I'll explain, Colonel. We all know that the Goa'uld take their hosts through the back of the neck. The Tok'Ra don't. They blend through the mouth during a movement much like a kiss. Do you remember what I was doing?" She looked at him and waited.

He frowned. "Well, you were trying to help the guy, and she must have jumped into you while you did CPR on him."

Sam just looked at him, as Daniel gasped. "She thought you were offering to be her host," he exclaimed.

"Exactly, Daniel. When she realized that I wasn't offering, it was much too late to do anything about it. We were here, and she desperately needed to return to her people. Even if she had no other reason to do so, she now needed to get to them _and find a new host,_ so that she could let me go."

She sighed deeply. "The truth is that a lot of her behavior was because of me. If I hadn't panicked, she would have explained and allowed me control to begin with, so I could explain what happened, once she explained it to me." She grimaced. "Unfortunately, I fought her and wouldn't listen to anything she said, until she gave me control to talk to the Colonel, which he didn't listen to, of course. She was talking to herself after that, and I started actually listening to her, and what she was saying. She also allowed me access to her memories. It was obvious by then that I was dealing with something more than a '_Goa'uld'_, as we know them. We'd only started to learn about each other, when the Ashrak got to us."

"So all we have to do is get you to her people, and they can find her someone else to go to, right?" Jack sounded both hopeful and disbelieving.

Sam nodded, but added, "It's not always easy to find a host, but yes, as soon as one is found she would leave, if I don't wish to stay _blended _with her." She drew a deep breath knowing this would shock them all. "That's _if_ I decided not to stay blended, and at the moment, I'm not sure which way I want to go." She paused and looked at each of them before continuing, "I'm not sure which way I want to go, but at this point in time…I have no desire to have her leave me. They have a tremendous amount of knowledge. She's been around for several thousand years now, and she has an immense store of information about a lot of different things. Important things. They have a phenomenal memory and only need to be told something once to remember it. It's probably what we would call photographic, but it really isn't that. It's," Sam stopped and shook her head, "It's really hard to explain how intelligent they are and how much knowledge they have. Anyway, I believe I might be able to do more good as a liaison between our two peoples. They could very well be the most important ally we will ever have in this fight." As they stared at her in obvious shock, she added, 'If, that is, they will even _accept us_ as allies. Compared to them we are, ah, young…yes, that's a good word…young."

"What exactly do you mean by that, Captain Carter?" General Hammond, just as Daniel had, realized what this could mean to them. "What does our being '_young_' have to do with it?"

She sighed and looked at the ceiling, "Okay, I'll be blunt about this, but don't kill the messenger, all right?" At their nods of agreement, she opened her mouth to be very blunt, only to be distracted by something. She frowned and then sighed again. Looking around at them, instead of insulting her people and everything about them, she said, "I know you haven't noticed, but Jolinar just woke up and she'd like to answer this, if you wouldn't mind talking to her. If you don't wish to, she'll respect your wishes and allow me to tell you, but, she feels that, since she knows her people much better than I do that she should answer for me."

They all looked at the monitor and sure enough, there was no doubt that Jolinar was now awake and talking to Sam. No one moved, and they looked at her expectantly, as she returned their stares. Finally realizing the problem, she told them, "I was being very honest when I said that she won't come fore, unless you want to talk to her."

General Hammond looked startled, which was an unusual occurrence for him, before telling her, "I apologize. Yes, of course, if she feels she should explain, then, if you are willing Captain…" He broke off as Sam dropped her head and closed her eyes, as Jolinar took over. Seeing the glowing of her eyes, even as it faded, made them all feel a little nervous, but the General was made of pretty stern stuff. "You are Jolinar of Malk'shur?"

"I am. You are General Hammond, correct?" At his nod, she proceeded. "I must apologize for this entire debacle. Had I asked, instead of assuming, this would not have happened. I suppose my only excuse is that in the confusion, tumult, and noise, I was too disoriented and frightened to do so. I have already apologized to Samantha, and she has forgiven me. I must hope that in time you will be able to do so, as well. If she decides that she does not wish to remain blended, I will find a new host, as soon as I can find one."

Looking at each of them, she continued calmly, "I have only now awakened, however, I have been able to read Sam's recent memories and know of your conversation. I will answer your last question." As Sam had, she frowned, as she gave thought to how to proceed, and the people watching were surprised that they could tell that it was Jolinar from the difference in her frown. Sam didn't frown like that. It was…different.

Finally, she came to a conclusion and began, "Samantha was about to be extremely, ah, undiplomatic, I believe would be a good way to phrase it. However, I do see her dilemma and find myself just as lost for words to explain this." Again, she paused for a short space of time, and it became quite obvious to those watching, even without looking at the screen, that she and Sam were having a discussion. Since the monitor showed distress in neither of them, they could assume it was a normal conversation, and the two of them must have come to a decision because Jolinar returned her attention to them. "While Samantha told you the truth about our Queen, Egeria, she left out one or two traits, which will prove to be…important…in our dealings with one another. It is true that we share little in attitude, lifestyle, needs, desires, in fact, about anything you would wish to compare between the Goa'uld and the Tok'Ra. However, there are two traits, which Egeria allowed to pass to her offspring that, in retrospect, would have been best left out."

"Those two traits are pride and arrogance. I am sure you have encountered both of those things in whatever interaction you have had with the Goa'uld. Unfortunately, many Tok'Ra appear to have both traits in abundance. We do attempt to curb them, but they are ingrained, and it is difficult not to revert to them upon occasion. Meeting with you, will bring out both traits," she frowned and then smiled slightly, "to the nth degree, Samantha tells me would be one way to put it. You must understand that we have been at war with the Goa'uld System Lords for over two thousand years. It is a long time to fight, however, that too, Egeria passed to her offspring. The will to fight them burns as bright within the Tok'Ra today, as it did the day that she spawned each of her clutches. Because of this, it is very probable that the Council will not consider you advanced enough to help them in any way. You have no technology that we need, and we do not fight in an overt manner, as you do. For one thing, there are too few of us to do so. Therefore, we infiltrate and disrupt the Goa'uld from within, sowing discontent and causing them to remain constantly at war with one another. We attempt to prevent any one of them from gaining more power than the others, which means that we must be very careful not to dispose of the wrong one at the wrong time."

"I have seen from Samantha that Apophis was about to attack your world, when you destroyed his ships. Unfortunately, we had operatives on those ships." She shrugged. "There was no other course that you could take. You have a right to protect your world in any way that you can, and they will see that…after the first shock and anger gives way to reason. There were other consequences as well, though. It also caused an imbalance in the hierarchy of power. We were able to begin wars between several of them, however Apophis's weakening is allowing some encroachment into what were his territories. There are some areas that are in danger of being taken over by one who is already almost too powerful. As it is, Sokar has gained a substantial amount of power through Apophis's weakened defenses." She looked directly at General Hammond. "I am quite sure that you will see the diplomatic consequences of this, General. The most we may be able to achieve between our two races at first is a mutual respect and understanding. I doubt very much that an alliance would be possible at this time, but we shall see."

"There is little doubt in my mind that they will consider you primitive and without merit…at first. That, of course, is when we shall inform them that the rumors were true and you disposed of Ra, something they have been attempting to do since he captured and killed our Queen. That alone will elevate you and your abilities somewhat. The remainder, well, we shall just have to work on it. As long as Samantha does not object, and unless you object, I will remain here for now and attempt to come up with the best scenario for introducing our two races…if, that is, you are even interested in allying yourselves with the Tok'Ra."

She tilted her head, as she looked at him, and it was such a very human gesture that the General smiled before sobering to tell her, "I have to call my superiors about the entire incident. I have no idea what our president will decide, however, I feel that he may very well look upon you, as he does Teal'c...each of you have a great deal of knowledge about the Universe that we do not have. It could very well be that he will feel the risks are worth it, in order to have access to that information, but I cannot promise you that. The fact that I can offer a possible future alliance with a resistance group working within the Goa'uld will no doubt weight heavily in your favor."

Jolinar nodded before telling him, "You must be aware that eventually, I will have to return to my people, at least for a time, if for no other reason than to find a host, however there will be other reasons. I have been out of touch, other than what reports I could get out to them, with our base for a very long time, as I was undercover in a Goa'uld stronghold, and I will have to notify them that I am still alive, although Rosha passed from me." Seeing the blank looks, she sighed, "Rosha was my host prior to the man Samantha found me in. He was a good man and wished to hide me, for as long as he could. Rosha was dying and beyond my abilities to heal. He agreed to help me. Unfortunately, an Ashrak rarely loses his prey. I had hoped to find another host, before the Ashrak found me again, however, that was not to be. We never had the chance to leave his world without raising questions, which would have caused trouble for him. He wished to wait, until it was time for trading in a few months. Unfortunately, the Ashrak found us first."

"And he followed you here. They are persistent, aren't they?" O'Neil observed.

"Indeed, O'Neill. Ashrak means hunter, and they are exceptionally skilled in tracking their prey. They never give up. The only way to end their pursuit is to kill them, something that is difficult to do unless, as we did, you catch them unaware, which is almost impossible to do. That we were able to do so is actually very rare and unusual," Teal'c explained in his usual calm and stoic manner.

They were startled when Sam's eyes glowed, and she looked at them, asking, "Do you have any other questions? Do you want to return me to the cell, now? With the Ashrak dead, we should be all right there now."

General Hammond looked startled. "Ah, no, not just yet, Captain Carter. You've been through a lot. There are guards outside the door, so I think you'll be fine in here. Let's just leave things as they are for now, until I can make some phone calls and see what the president wants to do."

Sam nodded. "Not a problem, General. Jolinar and I will be fine here. Do you mind if Daniel brings me something to work on though? Or, maybe some of my books? I'm going to be very bored, if I have to just sit here and stare at the wall all evening."

"I think we can arrange that, Captain. Get some more rest, too. You were put through quite an ordeal, even if Jolinar was able to heal your wounds."

"I think we might just do that…um, later, after I talk to Daniel about what I want him to bring me. Don't worry, it won't be a weapon."

"No. I know it won't. But don't work all night. Get a good night's sleep, and tomorrow we can see where we go from here." The General nodded and left for his office. He had a lot to do, although, after looking at the clock, and realizing how late it was he decided to wait to call the President. This was important, but it wasn't an emergency; it could wait until morning.

* * *

Several hours later, Daniel looked up from the manuscript he was still working on, as Sam sighed. "You okay, Sam? Can I do anything for you?"

Sam smiled at him and shook her head. "No, thanks, Daniel, I think that Jolinar and I are both just tired. All of a sudden I feel like I could sleep for a week."

Daniel nodded and started to tell her he would leave her to go to sleep, when Janet came through the door.

"Hey, Sam, how are you, um, both feeling?"

Sam smiled at her, as she responded, "Actually, we were just telling Daniel that we're feeling tired all of a sudden. I'm seriously considering going to sleep. I know it isn't terribly late, but then again, he didn't get to us until late morning, we slept for over six hours, and then we talked to all of you for another couple of hours, so it isn't all that early either. What are you still doing here? I thought you would have left for home as soon as we finished our conversation."

"I was doing an autopsy on the Ashrak. Didn't learn much more than what we already knew, though." She reached into her lab coat pocket and drew out a vial of something.

Sam looked at her, with inquiry in her eyes, before asking, "What's that Janet? I don't think we need anything else."

Janet shook her head. "It's not for you. I was wondering if Jolinar might know what it is."

Jolinar came forward and took the vial from Janet's hand. She didn't have to look at it for long. She handed it back, saying, "It is the serum the Ashrak used to mask his presence." Seeing Janet's confusion, she added, "It masks the presence of a symbiote. He would have used it, so that I would not be able to detect him. He would still have been able to detect me. It is one of the things that make them so dangerous to us. Had I had access to some, I would have used it, believe me. I wish I had more. It can be a very useful thing to have. Unfortunately, I no longer have any. I used the last of mine a few months ago, when I needed to be in the same room as Cronus, and yet remain undetected."

Janet nodded, and then asked her, "Is it something we should be trying to duplicate? I can give it a try if it is. It might take a few tries, especially if we don't have everything we need, and I have to try substitutes."

"It would be a very good thing, if you could do so. We never know when we will need it. Often it is better, if we are thought to be human when around the Goa'uld, as they tend to treat humans as if they are so much furniture and ignore them unless they make some mistake."

"Yes, I can see where it would come in handy in those circumstances. If you end up going off world with a team for anything, you might want to mask your presence, in case you do run into a Goa'uld. It does happen occasionally."

"I'll do an analysis of it and see where it goes. Cassie's asleep on the cot in my office, so I have time."

"Please apologize to your daughter for me. At that time, I did not know what to do, but I was afraid of anyone finding me. Still, I should not have frightened a child in that way."

"I explained to her who and what you are and what happened to make you react that way. She seemed to understand…at least, she made the comment that you must have been very scared. I agreed that you were and that was that. Don't worry about it. I think she'll be fine the next time you see her."

"I am relieved. I would not like to be a wedge between her and Samantha."

"I don't think that will happen." Looking at her watch, she commented, "I'd better go, if I want to get any of this taken care of tonight."

"Do you have anything on which I could write? I believe I know some of the chemicals involved. I rarely work in the labs; however, that does not mean I do not know a little about some of these things."

"I do," Daniel offered as he ripped a page from his notebook and handed her the pad and the page.

"Thank you, Dr. Jackson." It took Jolinar very little time to write what she knew about the serum and when she finished, she handed it to Janet.

Looking at it, Janet nodded, telling her, "This will help. It will give me a head start. Thank you."

"You are most welcome. You are the one that I should thank for attempting to do this."

Janet grinned. "We could stand here and thank each other all night, but you and Sam need some rest. Yes, I know you slept a lot today, but you're both probably still recovering somewhat regardless how well and healthy you appear."

Jolinar inclined her head in agreement commenting, "Yes, I agree. Sam and I were just telling Daniel that we were getting sleepy."

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow, then." Turning, Janet headed for the door, calling over her shoulder, "Good night, and Daniel don't keep them up just because you become lost in a manuscript."

Daniel waved her out the door, saying, "I'm getting ready to leave now. Don't get busy and stay up all night yourself."

"Not likely," her words drifted back to them as she started down the hall.

Daniel turned to Sam, "I'm leaving, if you'll be all right now."

"Yes, Daniel, we'll be fine. No doubt, we'll see you tomorrow."

He nodded. "First thing. I won't leave you sitting here bored, when I can just as easily sit here and translate those things."

"Just leave them, then, and you'll already have them here in the morning."

"Good idea. Night, Sam, Jolinar."

"Goodnight, Daniel."

Daniel waved as he went through the door, and Jolinar told her, "Let us put these things away and ready ourselves for sleep."

Sam yawned. "All ready on it." Ten minutes later, Sam crawled back in the bed, after brushing her teeth and washing her face. She was tired and Jolinar was already asleep. Not even worry over what the President had to say could keep her awake. Almost as soon as her head touched the pillow, Sam joined her in slumber.

TBC


	3. Welcome to the SGC and SG1 Ch 3 AAOF

_**Chapter Three Summary: **General Hammond talks to the President, and then tells Sam and Jolinar that they are now officially members of SG-1. While he is there, Daniel leaves to find some books he needs, and Jolinar takes the opportunity to tell the General about Amaunet/Sha'uri…and the complication attached to them. He agrees to explain it to Daniel, and Jolinar tells him that, if he will allow the mission, she believes that she can retrieve Sha'uri. She also mentions one little rather large problem she is having and how it will affect Sha'uri, as well as why there is little she can do about it for the time being. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Three**_

_**Welcome to the SGC and SG-1**_

* * *

"Fine, Mr. President, and you and the family? That's always good to hear."

"Well, no, this is not a social call, but then, neither is it some dire emergency." The General laughed. "I have to agree, Sir, anytime I call you, and we aren't about to be overrun by aliens or our planet destroyed by the Goa'uld is a good day and could almost be designated a social call," George Hammond began his conversation with the President of the United States in a low-key manner.

"Yes, Sir, I do have some news, and although it may sound alarming, at first, it has been taken care of, and the outcome could be very much to our advantage."

"Yes, Sir, I would be happy to tell you the entire story. This is what occurred…"

"…yes, Sir, we feel confident that between the differences in facial expressions, personalities, speech patterns, and the EEG, we were talking to both of them, no doubt whatsoever."

"There is no doubt about that either. Captain Carter is alive and well because the Tok'Ra protected her, at the risk of her own life, and then healed her completely."

"No, Sir, she was quite candid about who and what the Tok'Ra are, and what they do. She gave no secrets away, of course, however she gave us a very thorough overview of her people and their goals, which happen to coincide with ours. She did warn us that the Tok'Ra are both arrogant and prideful much as the Goa'uld are, although they attempt to curb it. Unfortunately, their Queen allowed it to pass through when she impressed their genetic memory on them."

"Well, Sir…" the General paused, as he thought about what he needed and wanted to say, before beginning again, "as well as we can understand what she meant, it seems that they, as well as the Goa'uld, have a genetic memory. However, the Queen controls what parts of that memory passes onto her offspring and Egeria, their Queen, imprinted them to fight the System Lords and their ways. Jolinar considers it unfortunate that she allowed the pride and arrogance to pass through, but if that is their worst traits, I, for one, can live with it."

"I believe that she is sincere in both her statement that she would leave Captain Carter if the Captain wished her too, and in her belief that we and the Tok'Ra should ally. She was also very upfront in telling us that she believes that achieving an alliance will be an uphill battle, and it may very well take quite some time to achieve. She's willing to work toward it, though."

"No, Sir, as of now, Captain Carter does not wish for her to leave her and find another host."

"Well, she told us that their knowledge of the universe is vast. They've been gathering it for several thousand years. It's my belief that the Captain believes that we should attempt an alliance, and one way to work toward it is for her to remain Jolinar's host. She didn't come out and say that to me, Mr. President, it's simply my conjecture. Jolinar was very candid about the fact that they sometimes have trouble with finding hosts, and it only makes sense that, if the Captain agrees to remain her host, it will go a long way toward better relations. I haven't had any time to talk to Jolinar one on one, but common sense tells me that a need for hosts is a big problem for them."

"Yes, Sir, I've been giving that some thought myself. It's my understanding from Teal'c that the Goa'uld, and therefore the Tok'Ra, can cure almost any disease. There may very well be some hosts here for them, but that is something to think long and hard about before making an offer. It will also depend on how it turns out for Captain Carter. Moreover, returning to your original question, since I became sidetracked and I do apologize for that, I think that in particular, Captain Carter and Dr. Jackson can gain some invaluable information about what's out there, which we are totally unaware of, but that's just waiting for us to stumble into it. In time, I have a feeling that there could be some technology we could learn about, as well, although obviously, seeing as they will believe us somewhat, ah, young, they may not wish to share a lot of that at least at first. Fortunately, with Captain Carter more or less in Jolinar's mind, she may come across things that will help us, technology wise anyway."

"She doesn't appear to be. Actually, when Jolinar wanted to explain the, ah, stumbling blocks to an alliance in a more, let's say diplomatic way, than Captain Carter was about to, she had the Captain tell us that she would like to answer our question, if we wished to talk to her. When she didn't say anything, we were puzzled, until the Captain pointed out that she would _not_ come forward, unless we wished to speak to her. We had to ask her to take control of the Captain, which she did, and when we were finished talking, she turned control of her body back to Captain Carter. Captain Carter also explained that soon, they wouldn't have to ask, because they would know when the other wanted to take control and simply "step aside" for them to come forward and do or say, whatever it was that they felt they needed to do. "

"That is a very emphatic yes, Sir, very different from the Goa'uld and yet…they _are_ Goa'uld, even though they call themselves Tok'Ra. Of course, people aren't all the same either, and that includes entire populations that are almost completely opposite from one another, so we shouldn't find it shocking to find a resistance group within the Goa'uld ranks."

"Well, Sir, after already having fought a war with them for two thousand years, I doubt they would simply walk away from it now. Furthermore, they don't fight in an overt way, as we do. They work from within the Goa'uld and sow dissent among them, keeping them warring with one another, and therefore, none of them gain the power that Ra had when we destroyed him. That, by the way, she said _will_ be very much in our favor, as it seems that Ra was the one that killed their Queen. They have wanted to dispose of him for a very, very long time."

Once more, the General paused before adding, "There is one other thing that probably has something to do with the fact that they work from within the Goa'uld instead of overtly. Jolinar made the comment that there are too few of them to fight overtly. I am guessing that, since Ra killed their queen, the chances are very good that they have negative population growth, and, in fact they are probably actually declining in numbers. The lack of hosts could very well be a part of that, I suppose. Since they won't take an unwilling host, I am sure that, if they need one but no one volunteers, they die. I think it is probably safe to say there is more than one reason for their dwindling numbers, if I am correct and their numbers are decreasing."

"Yes, Sir, very much to our advantage. It won't get us an alliance, but it may be enough to start a dialog, and Jolinar intends to remain with us, with your permission, and work as a liaison to encourage a closer tie and eventually a treaty."

"I have no idea, Sir, but I am quite sure that something she's seen in Captain Carter's memories brought her to the conclusion that we were not only to be trusted but were worth having as allies."

"Yes, we are very lucky to have the Captain. Moreover, to tell you the truth, although I know that you already think that he is something of a wunderkind, I can assure you that both Dr. Jackson and Captain Carter are in the top tier, when it comes to genius. I wish to God I had more like them that I could put on teams. I firmly believe that the success of SG-1 comes directly from the composition of their team, as well as their closeness and knowledge of one another, and Jolinar will only enhance what is already there."

"Sir, I would be delighted, if you could find more people similar to Dr. Jackson and Captain Carter who would be eager to explore the universe. We would welcome them with open arms."

General Hammond nodded, as the President continued to talk to him, even though the man on the other end couldn't see him. Suddenly, he straightened in his chair and frowned. "My opinion, Sir? A mistake. I believe that turning Jolinar and Captain Carter over to them for even a few days would be a huge mistake on our part."

"Yes, Sir, I most certainly do."

"Exactly, Mr. President, I agree one hundred percent. Our behavior toward her wasn't exactly open armed. Fortunately, her behavior was equally reprehensible, and she agrees that there was fault on both sides."

"Well, Sir, I would suspect that an intense interrogation would not make a good impression, and with all due respects, Sir, Colonel Maybourne is sometimes a little…over enthusiastic, with his methods, shall we say. I would, in fact, be almost positive that if he interrogates Jolinar, there will be unwelcome consequences. It is my opinion that there would definitely _not_ be an alliance, either now or later, and we could kiss a treaty good-bye, to, um, put it bluntly." He paused for a moment before saying, "I apologize, Sir, for being so blunt."

"No, Sir, I am not changing my opinion, however, I could have stated it a little less aggressively."

Suddenly, he was chuckling, before saying, "Well, yes, Sir, I think he is, too, but I wasn't aware that you shared my opinion. Yes, Sir, I will. You're going to what? Well, yes, Sir, she most emphatically does deserve a promotion. Thank you, Sir. No, I won't tell her. Thank you, Sir, I'll tell them your decision. Yes, Sir, you have a very good day, as well. Good-bye."

General George Hammond leaned back and rested his head against the back of his chair. He'd done it. Maybourne could come, in two days' time and spend no more than six hours with Captain Carter and Jolinar. Supervised hours. He and his team were never to be alone with them, and he would receive a warning about his treatment of her. At the first sign of insulting or disrespectful behavior, he had the president's permission to escort them from the base. They had access to the alien. They would be the ones that blew it at that point.

The President apologized; nevertheless, he felt that he had no choice but to allow them access to her, just as they had to Teal'c. However, he was aware that Teal'c, while not tortured, or abused in any way, was not treated with the respect he deserved. He had just given up his entire life for them. His treatment by Maybourne should have been much better than it was. See to it that Jolinar of Malk'shur's treatment was better.

Standing, he made his way toward the infirmary. He would leave the guards on her for the time being, although, his gut said it wasn't necessary. On the other hand, she _was_ still a mostly unknown alien entity. He was quite sure that both she and the Captain would expect nothing less. However, he would allow them to use Captain Carter's on base accommodations. He didn't think a cell would be necessary even though they seemed to expect it.

He entered the infirmary and was not surprised to see Dr. Jackson sitting with Captain Carter, but lost to his surroundings, as he made notes about the manuscript he was working on. Captain Carter on the other hand, was working with something that looked like nothing more than a cube. Several other pieces of technology lay scattered about the bed. He glance at the monitor and realized that the two of them were communicating at a rate that would probably be beyond most of their abilities to comprehend, if what was being said was spoken aloud. Yet not only were they discussing something, they were also working on the object at the same time. He watched the Captain's eyes glow and then her hands became even faster as Jolinar examined the cube even more closely.

Her eyes glowed once more, indicating that she was no longer in control and Sam turned to him, saying, "General, Jolinar says that this isn't a piece of technology. It's actually a portable safe. She also says that we shouldn't attempt to open it unless we are in a safe room, because there is no telling what it contains. It could be something as mundane as jewelry, or as dangerous as some type of poison. There's just no way to tell before we open it."

"I see. Well, Captain, when you are ready to open it, we will take precautions, then. You will need Hazmat, too, just in case."

Sam smiled at him as she shook her head, saying, "That won't be necessary, General. As long as it doesn't blow up, Jolinar is immune to poisons, although she believes that the Tok'Ra might be working on something to use against the Goa'uld that would be deadly to her, well, actually, to us. However, she has heard no rumors of the Goa'uld even working on such a thing; therefore, in her opinion, we will be quite safe. Nevertheless, she thanks you for thinking of our safety."

George Hammond simply nodded. They certainly had a lot to learn about their newest SG-1 member. Not susceptible to poisons, could heal about anything as long as it was not too severe, has a vast amount of knowledge. Yes, they were very lucky in having found her, or rather in her having found them,…and in Sam Carter being willing to remain a host. He smiled and began to give her the President's decision, ending with the unfortunate but truncated interview with Colonel Maybourne.

Sam listened as the General talked, "So, excepting the visit from Colonel Maybourne and his minions, everything seems to be pretty much set, as I've stated. Therefore, Captain Carter, Jolinar, the President of the United States of America would like for me to welcome you to the SGC and SG-1."

Sam's eyes widened, "We're going to be allowed to go off world? That's wonderful, General. As much as I enjoy the science and technology, I think that I'd miss the off world missions."

She stopped speaking and listened. _"Samantha, what exactly does this mean? I believe I know; however, I wish to be sure,"_ Jolinar was not so elated, yet. She wished to be sure that she understood correctly.

"_It means that the General asked the president to grant permission for us to, well for you, to join SG-1. That's my team, as you already know, and it also means that they aren't taking me off of it and keeping me on base, which is almost what I expected."_ She paused for a moment, and then asked quietly, _"Jolinar, you aren't planning to run out on the team and head for your base the first time we go through the gate are you?" _

Jolinar sighed, _"No, Samantha, I am not. I will explain after you finish your conversation with the General, but you will see that, at least for the moment, there is no place for me to go. Not yet, anyway, and besides, the General knows that in order to begin working on an alliance, I will, at some time, have to approach my people. I would much rather do it with his agreement than to try to do it on my own. We may even take our team with us. The Tok'Ra will be very interested in meeting Teal'c. He is the only Jaffa we have ever heard of who turned against his God. That took a great deal of courage." _

"_True. Um, Jolinar, the Colonel that the General mentioned, he's a, ah, well, he will basically be coming to interrogate us." _

"_What methods of torture will he use?" Jolinar requested the information, as if to her anyway, it was a foregone conclusion that they would be tortured for information. _She frowned at Samantha's shock.

"_Well, as far as I know, there won't be any torture. I…really don't think the General would allow that and, well, I'm not saying it never occurs, but in a situation such as ours, it isn't normal procedure. It's not like we're enemy combatants. I mean, well, yes, you're an alien, and I suppose I am, too, now, but I doubt that will happen. Do you want me to question the General just to be absolutely sure?" _

Jolinar frowned, and then decided to come down on the side of caution. One should always know as much as possible about the situation one was entering, _"Yes, perhaps you should do so. I wish to be prepared." _

Sam nodded to her and turned her attention back to the General, "I apologize, Sir, but Jolinar wished to be sure she understood what you were saying correctly. I assured her that she was. She also has a question about Colonel Maybourne's, um, methods of interrogation. I assured her there wouldn't be any torture. Well, no more than being shut in a room with Colonel Maybourne already is, anyway. She wanted me to ask you, so she would be prepared, just, well, just in case there is something of which I'm not aware." She didn't pause, before adding, "I don't know how to handle these lapses. There are times when I'll sort of zone out, while I listen or respond to her. Her comment could very well be something very important, or she might have a question of her own. She assures me that these things take a little time to work out, but that eventually, they will. After several hundred years, I would suppose so. I would think it would take many less than that to work the bugs out of the system."

"_Eventually, Sam, there will be no pausing to listen to me. The majority of the time, you will be able to listen, and understand both of us at once. I will be able to give you the ability to do so; however, it does not happen overnight." _

Sam sent her agreement, but this time kept her attention on the General, as he responded to her statement, "As for that, I wouldn't worry about it, Captain. As you say, it'll probably become easier for you, as time passes. In the meantime, we'll all be aware of the circumstances and simply wait for you to return your attention to us. I believe that would be the sensible and logical way to approach this particular situation, whenever it occurs."

He drew a breath before addressing her other statement. "As for the other, there will be no torture. At least one of your teammates will be with you for the entire interview, and at the first hint of disrespect, threats, or anything else that would be uncalled for, we have the Presidents permission to escort him off the base. We won't have a repeat of Teal'c, Captain, I assure you."

Sam smiled, saying, "Thank you, General Hammond. That's good to know. As for the awareness of what is going on when we zone on you, we both would appreciate that understanding. Jolinar assures me that many of the things that appear to be problems now will soon pass, as we learn how to work together and live as I mentioned to you before, from what I've seen in her memories, soon she won't even have to ask for control, as I'll come to recognize the need in her and will simply, um, step back, so to speak. She'll learn the same about me, and it'll become a very seamless occurrence for us."

"Well, Captain, I never thought I would hear myself utter these words, but…it sounds like a fascinating relationship."

Sam looked at him, nodded, and told him, "General, you have no idea. No longer than we've been together and I can tell that if something happened to her, and I was left behind, I would be bereft. It's a very unusual feeling, but a very comforting one, at the same time." Suddenly, she grinned, "She also assures me that it won't be all roses, and that we'll have our share of spats and arguments, even if it's over what to eat for supper."

Daniel looked up from where he was sitting and working on his manuscript, as he finally became aware that the General was there. "Oh, hi, General Hammond, I didn't hear you come in."

George Hammond smiled and shook his head, replying, "I know, Dr. Jackson, but since you were nowhere near this room, I'll forgive you this time."

Understanding exactly what the General meant, Daniel grinned at him, before he looked at them both and told them, "If you wouldn't mind if I left, I need a couple more books. I won't be gone long, promise."

"There's no hurry, Daniel, I'll be all right here alone for a while," Sam teased him lightly, and he grinned at her. He nodded at the General, before heading for and going through the door.

"_Samantha, I have some information about Sha'uri and Amaunet. I should speak to the General, unless you wish to talk to him for me. Moreover, it must be done quickly before Dr. Jackson returns." _

As Sam saw into Jolinar's mind, she gasped aloud, and then almost moaned, _"No, oh, no, no, no. Tell me that isn't true,"_ she pleaded with Jolinar.

"_I am sorry, Samantha, but I cannot. Although it is only a rumor, I believe that it is true, for she has not been seen for almost seven months." _

The General realized that Jolinar had just given some information to Captain Carter that had upset her greatly. "What's wrong, Captain? Is there anything I can do?"

"I don't know for sure, Sir. Would you mind talking to Jolinar?"

"Why, no, not at all."

As soon as he agreed, Sam's head dropped, and when it rose, it was obvious by Jolinar's set features that whatever she wanted to say, it was not going to be pleasant. "General Hammond, I must speak quickly, before Dr. Jackson returns. I was serious when I told him that I believe I know where his wife is. I am fairly certain of it, although, I could be wrong." Her voice grim, she continued, "However…General, Amaunet, or actually Sha'uri, is pregnant with Apophis's child. This happened before his attack on earth, as no one has seen her for almost seven months. I believe I know where she is; however, I do not know what to tell Dr. Jackson. I have heard rumors that the gate there is blocked, so he would have taken her by ship, and he will return for her as soon as the child is born. I do not believe it would be best for me to tell him this, since he cannot get to her, which he cannot without a ship; I am not sure that we should tell him."

She paused for a moment. "I know where I could, ah, shall we say…commandeer an Alkesh. It is very weakly guarded, and it would be quite easy to, er, relieve the present owner of it. It would be able to reach her within a couple of days, at most. Once we bring her here, however, we have the problem of Amaunet." She glanced at the door, "I believe you must make the decision on whether or not to tell him. I have been concerned all day that he would bring it up, and I do not know what to tell him."

General Hammond looked into Samantha Carter's eyes and saw both sympathy and concern there…from an acknowledged Goa'uld. It was a startling and yet comforting thought. "I'll take care of it, Jolinar. I may have to call you in, depending on his reaction."

She inclined her head in acknowledgement. "I shall return you to my Samantha now."

And, just that easily, he could tell that the Captain was once more with him. "General, I…I don't know what to say. I…If you decide he should know, and you will approve the mission, Jolinar and I can undertake it at any time."

The General looked startled. "Do you mean alone, Captain Carter?"

He waited patiently, as Sam talked to Jolinar. Shaking her head, she returned to talk to the General. "Not exactly, Sir. I'm afraid we would have to do some planning, but Jolinar believes she can pull it off. She doesn't have the entire plan figured out yet, but she will by the time you feel you need to know how we would accomplish the mission. Her risk assessment is that that it would be moderate or less, depending on whether you allowed others to accompany us, and if you did, then it would depend on how well they could do what they would need to do to accomplish it without incident."

Taking a deep breath, she asked quietly, "Would you want us to be there when you tell him, General? We will, if you think we should be."

The General considered his options and sighed. None of them were any better than any other and none of them were good. "No, however, I would expect to call you and Jolinar in at some point, after I tell him."

Sam nodded, adding, "General, she wants me to emphasize that it is "_believed_" that Amaunet, er, that is, Sha'uri is pregnant. While it is only rumor, Jolinar believes it to be true. In addition, she believes she knows where she is, but again, she could very well be wrong. She doesn't believe she is, though, in either instance. As far as telling Daniel, I think that perhaps, you might want the Colonel and Teal'c there when you tell him. Jolinar thinks that he might need the support of friends. This will be devastating news to him, and there is no way to lessen or soften the blow."

"I agree, Captain." He stared at the wall behind her, before returning his gaze and focusing on her. "Since this sounds like time might be of the essence, and you and Jolinar will have plans to lay, I will tell him as soon, as I can find the Colonel and Teal'c."

"Jolinar, I do thank you for this information. It may not be good news. Nevertheless, it is news. I just don't know what we will do with her. We've tried before to remove a symbiote, and it failed miserably. We lost a good man."

He watched Sam's eyes glow, and knew that it was Jolinar that spoke, "The Tok'Ra will be able to remove Amaunet, General; however, I am not sure how long it will be until we can do so. You see," Jolinar paused and sighed, as she realized she was not going to be able to keep this information from them, "I seem to be missing some rather vital information. The majority of my memories are intact. However, there is at least one important piece missing. I do not know why I cannot return to the tunnels yet, I only know that I cannot. I feel that there is a problem on my home base, and I feel a great deal of danger would await me should I return there without remembering what it was that was so very vital that it reach them. I am sorry, but once the child is born, she would have to remain incarcerated, until I can determine what to do about this. Dr. Jackson would have whatever time there was before the birth with her, though, so perhaps that would help some. I am quite sure that it would be a gift for her."

"I am thankful that the Ashrak damaged only a few things. It could have been very much worse, and I could be missing large pieces. However, I appear to remember everything that happened since I left my undercover position. I believe that whatever I learned, it was vital that I not only get it back to my base, but also that I myself leave my position with the System Lord. I feel relatively sure that we were betrayed, and that the person that did so was someone that I need to be very wary of contacting before knowing who it is. In fact, I lost my host because someone betrayed us to…" she gasped, "Cronus. They betrayed us to Cronus. Rosha and I escaped, but he sent the Ashrak and some Jaffa after us. We managed to evade them for quite some time; however, Rosha was wounded a second time and they were mortal wounds."

"We managed to reach the Chaappa'ai, while the Jaffa were quite some way behind us following a false trail that I left for them. Unfortunately, they saw the Chaappa'ai activate. We were very lucky that the Jaffa were not close enough to follow us through, and I managed to dial out again before they could attempt contact with the world that we were on," she stopped speaking and shook her head. "The problem, as I said, is that I do not remember who betrayed us. At least, for now, it is still beyond my grasp. I am still having memories return, as you just witnessed, so I am hopeful that they are simply taking time to resurface." She sighed deeply, "I hope you understand my reluctance to return there where whoever betrayed us is without knowing who it is."

"I understand completely. No doubt, it will be hard on Dr. Jackson, but we can keep her in a cell until you feel it is safe to return there."

"I thank you, General."

The General frowned, as he remembered something Jolinar said that only now registered with him. "Jolinar…" He waited, until she once more appeared, before continuing, "You said that Amaunet would have to be incarcerated "after the child was born", but that until then Daniel would be able to be with Sha'uri. I'm afraid I don't understand the difference."

Jolinar nodded, "Of course, I apologize. Amaunet is dormant. For the time being, she is in a sleep-like state, and she will remain so, until the child is born. The symbiote must sleep from as early as the first month to absolutely, by the third. The symbiote will harm the child, and it is very possible for it to come forth stillborn, if she does not become dormant during the later stages of the pregnancy. Therefore, Amaunet will not be in control of Sha'uri during this period. This is also, why it will be much easier to capture Amaunet at this time. Her host is unlikely to object to being taken away from Apophis; therefore, there will be no battle to capture and hold her."

"Many Goa'uld believe that a child born of two symbiotes will acquire all of the knowledge of the Goa'uld. These children are called harcesis, and they are strictly forbidden among the Goa'uld. The truth, of course, is that it is a myth. There is no physical way for a child to "_hold all of the knowledge of the Goa'uld"_, since there are many Goa'uld Queens, and each has its own memories. What this child inherits will be only that which Amaunet and Apophis can pass on from their direct lines. Nevertheless, General, that will be problematic enough, for our memories are mostly the stuff of which nightmares are made. We have had _some_ success in blocking unpleasant memories from a host's past for them; however, we have never attempted to do so for something like this. I am not sure what will happen to the child as the memories awaken. It is…something to be thought about very deeply."

Hearing Daniel talking to someone in the hall, Jolinar slipped back, and Sam came fore, just as Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c walked into the room. The General cleared his throat, and they all stopped and looked at him, waiting for what he was preparing to say, "I would like to see the three of you in my office, if you have the time."

Jack looked a little puzzled, since he and the General talked earlier. Well, maybe he wanted to talk about the sna…er, symbiote. Jolinar. He talked to the President, so maybe he just wanted them to know what he said. "Of course, General. When would you like to see us?"

"Now. I'll be waiting." The General walked out the door, and they could tell that he was talking to the SF's at the door.

"Well, Carter, I guess we'll see you later," he threw over his shoulder as he turned on his heal and headed toward the door. The man had said now. So, now it was.

Sam was examining a piece of technology, as if it was the most fascinating thing she'd ever seen, and Daniel watched as Jolinar came forward and began to attempt to do something. He shrugged, saying, "Jolinar, tell Sam I guess we'll be back later." Walking over to the chair, he laid the books he was carrying in it.

Jolinar smiled slightly, saying, "She said to tell you, "Okay"."

He grinned at her and joined Teal'c, who bowed his head to Jolinar before turning and following Daniel Jackson out the door.

The SF stuck his head in the door and cleared his throat, 'Uh, ma'am, the General said that, if you wanted anything to eat or anything, we could send to the mess hall for it."

Jolinar turned to him and nodded, "Thank you. If you would not mind, Captain Carter requests some coffee," she paused, "ah, black, large."

After the first shock of being spoken to, politely, by what he knew was a Goa'uld passed, he nodded, telling her, "Yes, ma'am. Not a problem. I'll call down for it now." He walked over to the phone and, at the last minute, remembered that this was not Captain Carter, and so refrained from turning his back to her. Sam came forward and smiled her thanks at him.

TBC


	4. Putting Their Plans in Place Ch 4 AAOF

_**Chapter Four Summary: **Sam and Jolinar begin to plan the mission to capture/rescue, Amaunet/Sha'uri. Sam "sees" a few brief flashes of memories from Jolinar, when she was a Goa'uld System Lord. Janet brings in the first try of the symbiote-masking serum. General Hammond tells Daniel about Sha'uri. An unscheduled traveler hits the iris. It was the box they gave Kendra to give to Thor. Daniel is excited, thinking it is Thor. Jolinar's instincts are telling her that it is nothing so banal. If Thor wanted to talk to them, he would simply arrive. She suspects something far more unpleasant. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Four**_

_**Putting their Plans in Place**_

* * *

"I wonder how long it will be before he sends for us," Sam sighed, as she thought of what Daniel would be going through. She truly wished there was something she could do to help him.

Jolinar surprised Sam by hugging her. "I would expect it will be as soon as he reaches a point where he can no longer answer Dr. Jackson's questions and that could be either quickly or slowly depending on what questions he asks. As for helping Dr. Jackson…we will be doing so by planning and succeeding at this mission."

"Good answer, Jol." She sighed again. "So we wait."

"Yes. We wait," Jolinar agreed, and then, her mind returned to her plans for capturing/rescuing Amaunet/Sha'uri.

Sam's thoughts turned to the conversation they had with Janet yesterday evening about the vial of serum that hides the presence of the symbiote. Janet offered to attempt to try to duplicate it and Jolinar had been quite happy to agree to her offer. It was something they tried to keep with them, just in case something came up, and they needed to play human. Jolinar thought it might not take too long to analyze it, and she also had a vague idea of some of the chemicals in it. At least that gave Janet a place from which to start working on it. Of course, knowing what was in it and duplicating it could take a little time, but then there was no reason they needed it at the moment, so that was fine. Still, she wondered how she was coming with it.

Since the General left them, after asking Daniel, Teal'c, and Colonel O'Neill to come to his office, it seemed as if time was crawling. Sam attempted to give her symbiote the same sensation she had received earlier. It was not too bad for a first attempt at hugging without arms. In fact, it was a fairly simple thing to accomplish. Realizing that Jolinar's plans were coming along rather quickly, she joined her in going over them and making changes, before remarking, "_So, you think this will work, Jol? What did you mean earlier about how well others could do what they needed to do?"_ Sam continued going over Jolinar's plans, as they shared them, and each did their own tweaking here and there. _"And where are we going to get slaves? Jol? Where are we going to get the Jaffa?"_ Sam groaned inside their shared mind. _"You have got to be kidding me. Please tell me you are kidding me." _

Jolinar sighed. The Jol was a bit much, but she would get used to it, she supposed. Turning her thoughts from her "nick-name" to Samantha's statements and questions, she told her, _"No, I am not. We must have slaves and guards. I saw from your memories that your military has kept many of the fallen Jaffa's sets of clothing…they will do. Teaching the, ah, marines to wear them could be more difficult."_

Sam smiled slightly at Jolinar's understatement, before telling her, "_It probably won't be any more difficult to train the marines to be Jaffa, than it is going to be to train them to be "slaves". I think we'd better call them servants instead of "slaves". That might work better than telling them they are going to impersonate "slaves". My people have a problem with slavery. I hope some of them have had some acting experience,"_ she murmured almost to herself.

Jolinar grinned at her. Sam found 'seeing' her grin odd, but Jolinar explained, _"I have simply sent you an image of another host, and you are seeing their smile. Eventually, if you decide to remain blended, then you will become used to 'seeing' me in this form, and it will not seem so…odd, to you. I will use several, and you may choose one that you particularly like, if you prefer to envision me as just one person."_

"_I like it, so don't worry about it being 'odd'. I'll adjust…ah, just as you will," _Sam subtly let her know she had caught the 'Jol' thought." Jolinar smiled at her again, and Sam smiled back, before reverting to the other problem. _"You know, when you said you knew where you could put your hands on an Alkesh, I thought you meant you knew where there was an older one that was abandoned, or something, not a state of the art, up to all the rigs, brand spanking new one. Won't that be harder than taking one from somewhere else? I mean, I know you said it was "lightly guarded" but from your memories, it doesn't look all that light to me." _

"_For a shipyard, it is very sparsely guarded, Samantha, and besides, if we must steal one, I would prefer it to be one that is in excellent shape. Who knows? If nothing goes wrong, it will make an excellent addition to your air force, will it not? If I am reading your memories correctly, you have no ships that are capable of what an Alkesh can do," _Jolinar answered her placidly, not paying attention to Samantha's complete shock.

Sam finally found her voice, saying, _"Are you saying we could just, well, keep it?" _

Jolinar frowned as she gave the idea more thought. _"Perhaps not. We will attempt to steal another one for you. I will want one available to me in the event we should need it, and if your people have it, no doubt I would not be allowed access, whenever I wished. We could just as easily take two as one. Teal'c is perfectly capable of flying the other one." _She sighed. _"We will just have to see how easy it is to commandeer the first one. I dislike the idea of simply killing all the Jaffa in order to get them; I would rather use subterfuge. Well, only time will tell. We shall see. No doubt, we will, er, "tweak", our plans many times, before we actually go. In addition, we cannot do that, until after we meet with your Maybourne person, so it will be at least three days. Teal'c should be capable of teaching both the Jaffa marines and the slave, ah, servant marines how to behave in two days." She frowned again, before adding, "At least, I am hopeful that he can do so. The sooner we go the better. There is no doubt in my mind that there are others looking for Amaunet. It will not be long, until someone else realizes what I have, thus they will be going there, as well."_

All Sam could do was nod. Finally recovering from the thought of actually acquiring an Alkesh for the US Air Force, as well as a _'personal'_ one for their own use, she asked quietly, _"We've gone over the plans we've made so far, Jolinar; however, you've left the most important thing about this out. From whom are we going to steal this?"_

Sam gasped, before saying, her voice cold, and calm, _"No, Jolinar. Think of someone else or some other plan. You are not going there. It is much too close to him." _

"_Do not worry, Samantha, we will be fine. You forget that he believes these ships are completely secret. No one but himself, the Jaffa at the sight, and the slaves that built them, know where they are. I would not have known myself, if I had not stumbled across the information,"_ her tone showed nothing other than patience and confidence.

Sam, however, was not quite ready to give up on trying to reason with her, _"Jolinar, you cannot go anywhere near anything that Goa'uld so much as half way claims. No. Furthermore, it is not because I am afraid for me. Or even the remainder of the teams, although, that should be a consideration."_ She frowned as she contemplated Jolinar's thoughts and picked up on her slight amusement. _"How can you plan this so calmly?"_ As all she picked up was a slight increase in the amusement, she became exasperated. It wasn't that the amusement was disparaging, in any way. In fact, she definitely felt affection through it…and, yes, and gratitude. Still, she had to know why she would take these kinds of chances, _"That—that—oh, __System Lord__,"_ Sam snarled the title, _"has a contract out on you. He sent an assassin after you. You can't simply waltz onto one of his…his shipyards and walk away with his ships." _

Jolinar hugged her tightly, _"Ah, my Sam, it will be no different than doing it to any other System Lord. In fact, it will be easier and much more likely to succeed. He is assuming that I am still running from his Ashrak. There is no way for him to know that the hunter is deceased…or that I am alive. In fact, I will soon take some time to visit one of my best and most trusted informants. They will be able to get the information to the correct ears, that the Ashrak and I both died in our, ah, meeting. Cronus would expect me to attempt to trap the Ashrak and dispose of him first. He will believe that, when I did so, the Ashrak disposed of me, at the same time. He is very arrogant, and he would never believe that anyone had the ability to take out one of his most successful hunters…or that the hunter would not kill me first. However, being familiar with me both from our association, as I was in my role of his underling, and his new information that I was actually Jolinar of Malk'shur, he will believe that I attempted to become the hunter, rather than the hunted. Furthermore, he will believe in my demise, particularly when it comes along with the information that the Ashrak died, as well." _ She paused, before continuing, softly, _"Please, Samantha, believe me when I tell you this, for it is true." _

Sam pulled in a sharp breath as a few scenes from Jolinar's past flashed past her mind's eye, _"You were feared…and fearless." _

Jolinar was quiet as she contemplated Sam's statement. Finally, she answered her, _"Yes." _

Suddenly, realizing that Jolinar thought that it would change her feelings about her, she "hugged" her hard, whispering to her quietly, _"It was a very, very long time ago. You changed yourself, just as Egeria changed herself. You have nothing of which to be ashamed. Yes, you were very much a Goa'uld; however, at that time, your genetic, um, blueprint was leading you. You changed it, Jolinar. You. Yes, there are some very reprehensible things in your past…your youth, actually. It is far, far, away in both time and space. I don't hold what you were against you. Nor will I ever do so, that I can promise you. If anything, it helped to make you into the excellent operative you are now. I know what you became, what you are today, and that is the only thing that matters."_ She paused, thinking, and then added, _"Don't ever be afraid for me to see your past. It's dead, it's gone, and it's never coming back." _

She hesitated for a moment and then added, _"It also gives me a feeling of confidence." Feeling that Jolinar was confused, she explained a little more,__ "Jolinar, it doesn't matter what army it was. The fact remains that you commanded, not just one army, but several. Your position wasn't given to you. You earned your place, as that highly placed a System Lord. It took all of them, working together, to take you down. I have no reason to question your ability to lead this or any other mission. And, believe it or not, the fact that you were the Highest of the System Lords and were willing to give all of that up, for what you believed in, tells me everything I need to know about you, your abilities, your integrity, and your loyalty. _

_So, don't ever fear to let me see what you were. I'm sure that there are things that you did that I'll probably despise, but as I said, a lot of water has flowed over the dam since then. Don't worry about it. I will cope, and it won't change my feelings toward you, in any way, regardless how bad it was. You were, after all, a Goa'uld System Lord. We'll survive my horror, if it ever actually occurs, which I seriously doubt," She added laconically._

"_Thank you, Mer Prinekh. I will remember your words, when I am feeling my guilt heavily, and perhaps, they will help me to work past it more quickly."_ She paused and Sam knew she had something else to say, and that it was probably very important. _"I—I do believe that you should be aware that I can still be Goa'uld, when the circumstances call for it. I will do whatever I must do to keep you, as well as myself, alive and well. Please do not forget that, or the fact that some of those things may be abhorrent to you. Should that occur, I would shut you off from whatever it is that I must do. I will not subject you to some of the things a Tok'Ra must endure in order to survive." _

Sam nodded and then assured her, _"I understand what you are telling me. I believe I saw a few things that, ah, enabled you to escape from a very bad place and it was…horrible. You closed Rosha off completely. I don't blame you for what you did. I don't know if I could have done that, but I would hope I could." _ She cleared her throat, before reverting to the original conversation, _"I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this am I?" _

"_No, I am sorry, but I do not believe that you will succeed." _

"_Okay, then let's make very sure that this plan is foolproof. Since the marines may be one of the things that could trip us up, if we are going to do this, then we need to get Teal'c started training them. How many do you think it will take?" _

"_We will need no less than eight Jaffa, and possibly as many slaves, ah, servants. The more we have the higher in the hierarchy we will appear to be. I know from what I overheard and later information I found that the Jaffa there are very much out of the loop, as to what is going on in the main strongholds. An underling will be a surprise to them, since no one is supposed to be aware of this shipyard. That will be the obstacle, if there are any. They may not believe that he has sent us to pick up two Alkesh. If they have a long-range communication device that could be bad, for if they check, they will find out immediately that we are not authorized to be there. It is a shame you do not have a ribbon device. That could also give us away. An underling as important as I will be passing myself off as being would most certainly be wearing one. It cannot be helped, although…"_ her mind raced. _"There is no reason we cannot build a fake one. Perhaps even include something that would allow it to glow. Often just the lighting of one is enough to deter too many questions. What do you think?" _

"_Yes, we can do it. It's too bad we can't make one that would work." _

"_It will be fine. Do not worry about it. Moreover, who knows? Once I see what you do have in your laboratory, I may be able to construct something that would have some sort of power. We shall simply have to work on all of these things." _

"_We've brought a lot of things back with us. There may be something we can use, and we also have some things at another facility. There may be something there, and I will get you a listing and the photos that go with them." _

"_Good. That will work." _

They both returned to the contemplation of not only the piece of technology in their hands, but to thoughts of the upcoming mission.

Sam looked up, as she heard someone coming down the hall. Her now enhanced hearing allowed her to hear them long before they actually entered the room. It was Janet.

"Well, I came up with something, but there were one or two things that I wasn't familiar with, and I couldn't be sure about the measurements. I did a best guess. The only way we'll know is if it works. But how we are going to test it, I don't know."

"I will have to use it and see if anyone detects me. It is the only way. We will hope that it will work if we find ourselves in a situation where we need to hide me. I thank you for attempting it, though, Doctor Fraiser. If this one does not work, perhaps I can attempt to help with the next try. I may recognize the things of which you were not sure."

"That sounds good to me. Between the three of us, we should be able to come up with something if this one doesn't do it."

* * *

Daniel and Teal'c caught up to the Colonel. "Jack, what does the General want, do you have any idea? Is it about Sam and Jolinar? She didn't look unhappy, so I assume the President allowed her to stay."

"Have absolutely no idea, Daniel. I haven't talked to him, since he talked to the President, though, so that's probably a good guess."

Daniel nodded, as Jack rapped on the door to the General's office.

"Come."

"General, reporting as, ah, requested."

"Sit down, please; I have some things to discuss with you."

"The President okay-ed Jolinar remaining, didn't he, General? I mean, surely we aren't going to have to lock them away?"

"No, Dr. Jackson, there are no problems with Jolinar remaining with Captain Carter. In fact, the President is delighted at the idea of the possibility of an alliance with them. Captain Carter will remain a member of SG-1, therefore, Jolinar, will also remain with you."

Daniel beamed, Teal'c inclined his head, and Jack appeared…undecided.

"I didn't have you all come here to discuss that, although, I should warn you that Maybourne and his team will be here in two days' time. The President has granted them six hours with Jolinar…six heavily supervised hours. He doesn't wish for a repeat of the treatment that was meted out to Teal'c, and we have the authority to escort them from the base, at the first instance of disrespect or insult."

Jack was smiling. That was something into which he could sink his teeth. He was already making plans to get rid of him, when the General interrupted his thoughts. "A true disrespect or insult, Jack, not one that you've decided is one. The President doesn't want him to be able to say that he wasn't given access to the alien, so he won't be denied access. I have a feeling that the warning will be very plainly worded and that Maybourne will be on his, er, better, behavior."

Jack sighed, as his dream slipped away. "Yes, Sir."

As silence descended on the room, the three men realized that the General was quite upset about something…something he didn't want to talk about, but knew he had no choice.

Daniel cleared his throat, and the General raised his head and sighed. "General, it's pretty obvious that you have something you wish you didn't have to say. Maybe it would be best just to be blunt about it. We'll cope with whatever it is."

"I'm sorry and you're correct. I don't know how to explain this. I believe I'll start with saying that it's a mixture of good and bad. The bad is pretty damned bad, and the good is pretty damned wonderful."

Having said that much, the General sighed once more and looked directly at Daniel, saying, "Dr. Jackson…Daniel…we believe we know where your wife is; although, we can't be one hundred percent sure." He shook his head. "That was the wonderful news. Daniel, it is widely believed that she is pregnant with Apophis's child."

Daniel didn't move and he wasn't sure he was breathing. He wasn't sure he'd ever felt like this before. How could one be so inordinately happy, and so viciously angry at the same time? Which one was going to win? Joy or Anger? Anger or Joy? Which? Which? Jack's hand came down firmly on his shoulder.

"Don't lose it, Daniel. I'm pretty sure there's more information coming, and it may be mixed, as well, so just…wait."

"Wait? You want me to wait? For what? My _wife_ is pregnant. My wife is pregnant by that..." his voice died and he closed his eyes. "General…" once more he lost his ability to talk. Anger raged through him. How dare he? How dare he do this to Sha'uri? What now? What did he do now? Was he angry _at_ her? He poked at his emotions…no. No, he wasn't. He realized she had no choice in this. Jerking out from under Jack's hand, he stood and began to pace, while his thoughts jumped too fast even for him to comprehend them all.

They all waited for him to slow. It took quite some time. As he finally stopped his frenzied pacing, and returned to the table, the klaxons began to ring. On autopilot, he joined his teammates, as they headed for the control room. He hoped this was something that would take his present thoughts away. They entered the control room in time to hear that there was an unauthorized traveler on the way…and then it hit the iris.

General Hammond sighed. "Get a team in here to find out what, if anything, we can find out about our visitor. Give the results to Captain Carter. We'll meet in the briefing room, as soon as she knows what we've got."

It took almost no time for the team to arrive, and he watched them sweep the iris for any residue. He knew that once the Captain and Jolinar got the results it wouldn't be long, and they would know what that was. The team finished and left, as they all stood and looked at the Stargate. All of them were wondering who they just killed.

The General finally turned to the others, saying, "We may as well return to the briefing room." Nothing but silent nods greeted his remark. Once there, he looked at Daniel, as he told them, "While we wait for those results, I'll give you the rest of our information."

Daniel held his hand up and the General patiently waited for him to gather his no doubt scattered thoughts. Finally, he looked up from the table he'd been frowning at and locked his gaze on the General. "Okay. Okay. I have one question. The answer to that question will probably make all the difference in how I manage to handle what else you tell us." Pausing he drew a deep breath, "Can we capture Amaunet? Will you allow us to try? If so, when can we go? This is not Sha'uri's fault, and maybe if she's pregnant, Amaunet will be easier to capture. How many Jaffa are there with her?" Daniel stopped, looked at the General, and told him, "I'm sorry. I said I had one question. Well, there are actually two. Can we capture Amaunet? Will you allow us to try?"

The General nodded, assuring him, "Yes, we can make the attempt, and yes, I will allow you to try." Seeing Daniel about to start again, he stopped him with a shake of his head, saying, "There are things you need to know. Allow me to finish telling you."

Daniel released the breath he was holding and nodded his assent. The General started from the beginning, "As I was saying, we _"believe"_ we know where Amaunet and, therefore, Sha'uri are. Please take note of the word _"believe"._ The information we were given stressed that. I also said that when I told you about her pregnancy. It is widely _believed_, although I have the impression that, although, it is suspected that she's pregnant, no one knows for sure, if she truly is and, if so, where he's hidden her."

Daniel frowned. "Why would he hide her anywhere, General? Can't he stand to see her pregnant or something?"

Teal'c was the one that answered, "It is forbidden for two Goa'uld to have a child."

"Why?" Daniel looked startled.

"Because it is said that the child will hold "all the knowledge of the Goa'uld". They pass the genetic memory of the Goa'uld onto the human offspring. Thus, it will be accessible when it becomes a host. It is my belief that, if it is true and Apophis has done this, then he will have every intention of making the child his host, so that he may access his knowledge." Teal'c paused before continuing, "The other Goa'uld will hunt this child and kill it if they find it."

Daniel swallowed, before saying, "You're telling me that we'll not be the only ones hunting her now. Someone else could find her, too. Shit." Daniel closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Don't borrow trouble, Daniel. Our information says that no one knows where he's hidden her. The informant isn't even sure," Jack did his best to throw some positive light on this latest bit of information.

Daniel nodded tiredly, then looking at the General, he asked, "Is there any more information about this, General?"

"Yes. For one thing, _if_ she is where we believe she is, and _if_ she is indeed pregnant, then it may not be a capture, but a rescue mission. Unfortunately, at this point, and probably until we get there, we won't know which it is. Dr. Jackson, Daniel, if she is pregnant, then Amaunet is dormant and Sha'uri, at least until the child is born, is in control of her body."

Daniel's mouth dropped open and Jack's mirrored it. Closing it, Daniel asked, "Um, how can you be sure of that? And why would Amaunet do that?"

"According to our information, if she comes forth the child will be harmed. She will awaken, as soon as the child is born."

When no one made any move to say anything else, Jack cleared his throat saying, "So, when do we go, and when are you going to tell us where she is?"

"I don't know, Jack. Jolinar and Sam are working on the rescue plan now and, until they figure out exactly how they want to do this, we wait."

"Ah, General…Jolinar? It almost sounded as if Jolinar is heading up this rescue mission, Sir. That—that isn't what you meant was it?"

The General sighed. Hurdle number two just came into sight. "Yes, Colonel, that is exactly what I meant. She's the one that will be doing what needs to be done to get us there. We have no choice but to depend on her expertise and knowledge of the Goa'uld at this point in time."

"And, ah, why would that be, General? Going through the gate is pretty straightforward. We send the M.A.L.P. through to make sure there isn't a contingent of Jaffa waiting on the other side, and we go through if they aren't. If they are, well, then we do have a slight problem, I admit that. I can't see why you would need Jolinar to plan something this straightforward."

As the General sighed once again, and readied himself to answer his second in command, a voice from the doorway did it for him, "Because we are not going by gate, Colonel O'Neill. The gate there is inoperable. We will be going by ship."

Teal'c's eyebrow climbed at least halfway up his forehead. Jack stared at her, and Daniel realized that the reason Jolinar was heading this up was because, as she had attempted to tell him, she was aware of where Sha'uri was…and she had given that information to the General freely. He closed his eyes. They had almost allowed her and Sam to die. He shivered.

Jack finally found his voice to answer her, saying, "Ah, you do realize that the only spaceship we have is a…shuttle. I doubt very much it will get us wherever it is we need to go."

"I am aware, of course, Colonel. Samantha has explained to me the situation here. If we are well prepared, we may be able to steal two ships instead of one, in which case your government could have one. I would wish to keep the other, preferably here at the mountain."

"And just how do you plan to hide this, ah, ship?"

She tilted her head as she examined him to see if he was perhaps joking with her. Feeling Sam's emotions, she knew he was not. "It will remain cloaked, of course. No one will be able to see it, Colonel. I would think that a ship would be very useful for numerous things. I certainly wish to have one available to me. Gate travel is not always the best strategy."

Jack looked stunned for a moment, before exclaiming, "What am I saying? Why am I asking about hiding a non-existent ship? Did you say steal? And just how are we going to do that?"

"I am in hopes that it will not prove too difficult. I happen to know where there is a cache of ships that a particular System Lord is keeping hidden. In fact, he killed most of the Jaffa familiar with it except for those that stayed there to guard them, in order to keep its location secret. He believes no one knows where it is, therefore, the force guarding it is light. It should not prove difficult, I assure you."

Teal'c was now very interested in the exchange and leaning forward he asked, "Motherships?"

Jolinar frowned. "Yes. At least four at last count. I was not planning on something so ambitious. I was thinking we could perhaps capture an Alkesh or two. Both of us are quite capable of flying them…or the motherships for that matter." She frowned. "You may be correct, Teal'c. The motherships would indeed make more sense if the scenario I am planning. I will consider it."

"You are planning on going in with your own Jaffa and slaves?" Teal'c immediately knew exactly what she was thinking of doing.

"Yes. Can you train them in…three days?"

Teal'c frowned. "How many and who?"

"I was going to leave the choice of who to you and the Colonel. He, too, would go as Jaffa, of course. It will depend on how many Jaffa uniforms we have available to us. As many as possible."

"You wish a large entourage, then." Teal'c nodded. "It should work, if they do not question you too closely."

Jolinar frowned. "Yes, the lack of a ribbon device is unfortunate, however, Samantha and I believe we may be able to come up with a reasonable facsimile and, as long as I have no need to use it, they should never know."

"Who?" Teal'c finally got to the rather important question.

Jolinar laughed softly, "Who else, Teal'c? Cronus, of course."

His teammates watched as a smile spread across his face. Not a normal Teal'c smile, but a truly large smile. Then he laughed. "Very well, Jolinar. I am most willing to assist you in any way I can do so."

"Thank you, Teal'c. I am very grateful to you. Your expertise will be very much needed for the training. They do not have to actually have a Jaffa's skills; however, they must be comfortable in the uniform, and the use of a staff weapon."

Teal's nodded. "It can be done."

"I take it from your conversation with Teal'c that you and the Captain finished your plan then?" The General knew they had, but felt that he had to ask anyway.

"I apologize, General. Yes, it is complete. As you heard, we will gate to Cronus's secret shipyard and, ah, help ourselves to a couple of his ships. From there, we will go and rescue Sha'uri."

Daniel held up a finger. "Ah, I have a question. Two questions. Why did you not mention me when you were talking about pretending to be Jaffa? I _am_ going. I won't be left out of the rescue of my wife."

Jolinar looked surprised. "Of course, Dr. Jackson. We will need you to convince Sha'uri that we are there to help her. I very much doubt that she would go willingly with a group of strange Jaffa. I simply have not decided if you should go in as Jaffa or, ah, servant. I am leaning toward servant, or rather, as my lo'tar. I do not think it would be calming for her, if she sees you dressed as Jaffa."

Daniel nodded. He didn't like the sound of the servant part, but he could see her point, and besides, what really mattered was Sha'uri's reaction. In that, Jolinar was very correct. She would not feel comfortable with Daniel dressed as a Jaffa.

Looking back at Teal'c, Jolinar commented, "Samantha assures me that the word 'slaves' would have a detrimental effect on those who will be accompanying us in that capacity; therefore, we compromised on 'servant'. It will make no difference to the actual mission, as we will have no cause to call them anything at all, but it could be that it would facilitate their training."

That was probably a smart move on their part, and it also answered his own revulsion at being called a slave. It should work.

He looked up as Jolinar addressed him once more, "What was your other question, Dr. Jackson?" Her reminder brought him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, um, yeah. Where is she? Where do we have to go to get her back?"

"Abydos. I believe she is on Abydos."

Daniel's eyes rounded. They couldn't go by gate. Of course, it was buried. Now, it all fell into place. Apophis took Sha'uri to her people to await the birth of the child. "Won't Apophis take the loss of her and the child out on the people and destroy them?"

"I would doubt it. It is very likely that he left no guards, realizing that it was unlikely for anyone to look there, at least for some time. Unlikely, not impossible. It is too bad we do not have something from one of Heru'Ur's Jaffa that we could leave with them as proof, but I hope that if they simply give Apophis that name, it will be enough. They are very longtime and bitter enemies. He will believe that he found and took her and the child."

Daniel looked at her for a long moment, and it was obvious that he was thinking deeply about something. "The Tok'Ra are on the inside of the Goa'uld hierarchy. You know every System Lord, who their enemies are, who is fighting who, and what will and won't start a war…or stop one. That is what you meant by disrupting them from within. When you said that you start wars between them you meant just that. Not skirmishes…wars. That is how you know who and what to use to manipulate Apophis, and screw Cronus." He paused staring at the wall, then turned back to her. "Who are you going to pit Cronus against over the theft of his ships?"

Jolinar smiled, pleased with Daniel's mental quickness and understanding. "Sokar. He is getting much too powerful. It is time he was challenged by the others. He is already in on and off again wars with both Yu and Ba'al. If I can add Cronus to the mix, it would stretch his already thin army and weaken him enough that he could not take over any of Apophis's unprotected worlds." She shrugged. "You will find that there are more ways to defeat them than with guns and grenades, however, I feel that a combination of the two could bring them down much faster…convincing the Tok'Ra may not be easy; however, we shall see. Offering them a ship would certainly, er," she listened to Sam, and added, "Sweeten the pot."

"As far as the rescue mission, although I realize that you do not wish to wait, Dr. Jackson, I will not go until I have well trained Jaffa and servants. Teal'c will be able to train both, but it will take at least two of your days. That will work well for us, as I must meet with your Maybourne person the day after tomorrow. If the training goes well, I expect we could leave for our mission within two days after that, if General Hammond has no objections to either our plan or our time frame." She turned to look at him.

"No, I will defer to your knowledge in this, Jolinar. It sounds like you have your plans well laid, and I did turn it over to you, so, no, I don't object to your timeframe."

She nodded, stating, "Thank you. Now, my Samantha has some disturbing information for you, so I will now retreat, unless there are any more questions? No? Very well then, here is Sam."

And that easily, it was obvious that Sam was now with them. Looking worried, she walked toward the table. What they found on the iris made her feel uneasy. They gave this to Kendra to give to the Asgard. Somehow, thinking that this was from the Asgard just did not '_feel_' right. She knew that some of the uneasiness was from the several thousands of years of experience from which she was now pulling. Sam was well aware of Jolinar's own uneasiness over what they found, and she found herself believing in Jolinar's instincts. She trusted her. Well, someone had used it, and all they could do was start at that point because it was the present starting place. Taking a seat at the table, she leaned forward, clasped her hands together, and then drawing a breath, she began her report, announcing, "There was no organic residue, but they did pick up a faint nuclear signature. In fact, they found traces of iridium."

Daniel was struggling to keep his focus on what Sam was saying, since his mind wanted to think about Sha'uri instead, but that announcement brought his head up, from where he was staring at the tabletop, to look at Sam. Then he felt the first bit of excitement enter him and, at least for now, he was able to push the mission to save Sha'uri to the back of his mind. He turned to face Sam fully, murmuring, "Iridium. That's the radioactive stuff we put in the Sagan Institute box we left on Cimmeria."

Sam nodded, replying, "Yes, it is, Daniel. I wanted it there, so it would leave a very recognizable signature and…"

"It's the same stuff? Are you sure, Sam?"

Sam smiled slightly, realizing that Daniel was trying very hard to concentrate on the problem at hand, instead of the one that would come up in a few days, so she answered him quickly, 'Yeah, it's the same stuff. No doubt at all."

O'Neill frowned, as he dredged facts of that mission up and rapidly went over them. "Weren't the locals supposed to give that box to…Thor? Whoever, or, um, whatever he is."

Teal'c nodded his agreement, stating, "We assume he's a member of the Asgard, an extremely advanced culture."

The Colonel was still frowning, as he answered Teal'c's comment, "The fact of the matter is, we really don't know."

Daniel's thoughts about what this should mean was growing, and he turned to the General, "This means that the Asgard must've gotten the box and sent an answer. General, we have to respond before they leave."

O'Neill did his best to rain on Daniel's parade by reminding him, "Um, you all know I take great pride in my title as Mr. Positive. However, we _did _destroy their de-Goa'ulding thing. Might not they look unkindly on that? As in that could mean this was not a happy greeting?"

Daniel's voice showed his suppressed excitement, as he gave his rebuttal, "We did that to save Teal'c. I'm sure the Asgard didn't expect to trap a Jaffa who isn't an enemy. I'm sure they would understand that we had no choice, if we wanted to get him out. It wasn't like we could give them a call to come remove him themselves."

The members of SG-1 turned to the General, waiting to see what he would decide, and after giving the situation a few moments thought; he gave it to them, "All right. I'll tell you what. We'll send a probe though at 1300 hours. If everything checks out, you have a go."

Since that seemed a reasonable response, they all nodded their agreement and then they stood to leave the room.

* * *

At 1300 hours SG-1 returned to the control room, along with Jolinar and Sam's guards. The General indicated they should wait outside the control room. It seemed ridiculous to even have them following the Captain and Jolinar around. The more he considered it, the more he was inclined to dismiss them, except for, well, perhaps a night guard. Leaving that train of thought, he turned with SG-1 and watched as the technicians readied the M.A.L.P. and sent it through the wormhole.

Watching her computer screen, Sam told them, "The probe should be there…now."

O'Neill reached down and pressed the button to activate the feed from it. They didn't like what they saw. Dead Cimmerians were lying around the gate.

It took Teal'c very little time to discern what the cause was, "Those wounds have been caused by staff weapons. They have come under attack by a Goa'uld." As the M.A.L.P.'s camera panned the area, it came across a dead Jaffa. He appeared to have a bird tattoo on his forehead. Teal'c looked grim.

"Friends of yours, Teal'c?" Jack's remark gained no answer. This was too serious a matter to respond to such a remark. Daniel sent him a scowling look and turned back to what they were seeing. His quick look was enough to assure him that Jack realized his remark was inappropriate to the situation.

Still panning, the camera came across Thor's Hammer and it's destruction.

Teal'c's stoic expression did not change, as he remarked quietly, "Clearly Cimmeria is no longer safe from the Goa'uld."

As the camera continued to pan a woman briefly appeared, and Daniel, exclaimed, "Whoa! Pan right, pan right." As it focused on her, it was clear that she was holding a dead Cimmerian, crying, and pleading with the camera, although they couldn't hear what she was saying.

Daniel gasped, as he recognized her, "That's Gairwyn. The woman who showed us around. She's saying something. Sam, can we find out what she's saying? Not," he added, "that we can't guess that for ourselves."

Sam nodded, "Turn up the gain on the M.A.L.P.'s mike, Sergeant."

"Yes, ma'am."

Then they could hear Gairwyn as she pleaded with them, "Please…The Etins have come. Please help us. Please…The Etins have come. Please help."

"Aw, crap," O'Neill's succinct comment was echoed internally by all of them.

"Shut down the gate, Sergeant. Let's head back to the briefing room to discuss what appears to be happening," General Hammond issued his order, as he turned to leave the control room and lead them back up the stairs.

As they reentered the briefing room, the members of SG-1 walked over and looked out the viewing window upon the Gate. Daniel began to explain to the General, "Cimmerians use the word Etin for the Goa'uld. Gairwyn said the Etins are there. For a thousand years, Cimmeria was safe from Goa'uld attack. Then we show up and screw up Thor's technology." He sighed tiredly, at the thought of what they had loosed on the Cimmerian's peaceful unsuspecting world.

Teal'c looked directly at the General, as he agreed with him, "Daniel Jackson is correct. The Goa'uld usually send an advance scout through the Chaappa'ai to determine a planet's worth and vulnerability. If none of the scouts report back, it is a deterrent to invasion."

Sam nodded her agreement, adding, "The point is, Sir, the Goa'uld are there, and the locals aren't exactly much of a match for them. Their society is pretty, well, it isn't capable of defending against the Goa'uld…not on any level at all."

Jack sighed, before adding his agreement that this was, in all probability, their fault, "General, if we did screw up their world, we should take a little responsibility for fixing it, don't you think? I guess it isn't really a matter of if, either. I should have said; we did screw up their world."

General Hammond nodded, saying, "I understand that. Nevertheless, let me play devil's advocate for a moment here. It's not our world. Is it really any of our concern?"

Teal'c looked at him oddly, and then stepped forward, before reminding him, "The destruction of the hammer device to save my life may have, and very probably did, cause this. Since this is so, then I _am_ responsible."

Jack stepped forward next, "General, I gave the order to destroy it. There was no other way to release Teal'c, that's true, but it's also true that it opened their world to invasion."

Daniel took the next step forward, and adding his thoughts to theirs, said, "I fired the staff weapon at the machine and destroyed it, so the actual destruction of it is on my shoulders. I believe I'm just as responsible as they are. I could've refused and tried to find another way to release Teal'c. I didn't even try another way first."

"_What part did we play in this, Samantha?" _Jolinar asked quietly, as she could find no action of Sam's to attach to this event.

Sam stepped forward, but looked as if she was at a loss as to what to say. Finally, she came up with her reason, "Well, I…was there. Like Daniel, I could have tried to find a different way. I could have maybe tried to figure out a way to disconnect and then reconnect it or…something."

Jolinar laughed gently, _"I see. Yes, you are correct and we, too, must do what we can to mitigate this problem." _Even though her voice was a little teasing, Sam could tell that she really did believe that they were all responsible for what had occurred. She was also proud that they all felt that they must correct their error and was quite prepared to do her part, if at all possible, even if she could see nothing she could do at the moment, other than protect her host to the best of her ability. _"Besides,"_ she added, _"this will give us a chance to try out Dr. Fraiser's serum. If we do come into contact with the Goa'uld in question, then we will know whether or not it works. There will be no doubt."_

Hammond looked at the four of them, and it was plain to see that he was torn between exasperation with them and the knowledge that they were correct. If it was their fault, then they should try to fix it.

Colonel O'Neill finished their comments, "To answer your question, Sir, yes, I think we should be concerned. If we destroy something, however inadvertently, it _is_ still our responsibility to do what we can to mitigate the effects our interference caused." The other three stared at him. Jack O'Neill was an extremely intelligent man; however, he usually did his utmost to hide that fact.

The General sighed and gave in, "All right, but keep your heads up on this one."

Jack gave him a cocky salute, "Yes, Sir. Is there any reason we can't go right away? Say in half an hour?"

"Not that I know of, Colonel. You have a go," the General agreed, but still looked worried. He was sending a four-man team into an obviously hostile environment. He debated sending more, but decided that, at least for now, he would leave it as is. Four people could stay hidden a lot easier than eight or more. Before they could leave he abruptly added, "Jack. Be sure you have plenty of extra ordinance with you, and I'm including claymores and the like in that order. We have no idea what you're walking into, and I want you well armed."

Jack nodded his understanding, and agreement, "Yes, Sir. We'll definitely do that." They immediately left to make their preparations.

"_We must go to see Dr. Fraiser and be injected before we do anything else. Normally, the serum would work fairly quickly; however, since we have no idea if it will work at all, we do not know how long it will take to mask me, if it is going to do so. I believe it would be best to go there first," _Jolinar put her thoughts into words to be sure that Sam caught them.

"_I agree. Let's get it over and then go gear up,"_ Sam agreed, as she headed for the medical bay. As she walked swiftly down the corridor, she suddenly realized that no one was with them. She remembered the General stopping and speaking to the guards, as they left the control room. He must have dispensed with them, at least for now. There would probably be one stationed outside her room tonight. She didn't blame the General. He was actually taking a risk in removing them this soon. He couldn't know for sure that they wouldn't try to leave again.

"_Do not worry, Samantha. I will not abuse his trust in us. There is no reason to do so, as I explained earlier," _Jolinar once more reassured her new Lifemate.

"_I know; it just surprised me that they took them off us so soon. Of course, he probably figures that, if we're going to do anything, we'll try it, while we're on this mission," _Sam added her own opinion of what the General was probably thinking.

"_I agree. He may even be surprised to see us return with our team," _Jolinar laughed softly, as she answered. _ "I will not be insulted if he is, my Sam. I expect it to be this way, at least at first. I would be disappointed, if he was any less cautious. Dispensing with the guards does not surprise me. No doubt, General Hammond gave orders not to allow us to leave the base or go through the gate without our team. That, too, I would expect, as it is only being cautious. As I said, I made it plain that I would have to contact my base eventually, and besides that, we cannot work toward an alliance, if they never allow me to go there. Do not worry about this type of thing. It is not important at this time. We will worry about it when the time comes, yes?" _She let Sam know that she expected to be under scrutiny for quite some time to come.

Turning into the infirmary, Sam nodded to her…Lifemate…was the word she felt from Jolinar, and it seemed right somehow. So, she agreed with her Lifemate. Seeing Janet in her office, Sam knocked lightly on the doorframe. "Hey, Janet, got a minute?"

"Sure, Sam, what do you and Jolinar need?"

"We're heading out to a Goa'uld occupied world. Jolinar thinks this would be a good time to try out the serum."

Janet drew in a breath. She really wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but she knew that Jolinar felt it was important, so she nodded and retrieved it from a locked cabinet. Bringing it back, she asked her, "Jolinar, is there anything other than masking you that this could cause? Any side effects that I should know about?"

Jolinar came fore to answer her, "I do not know for sure. I suppose there is a chance that it will put me to sleep. Although substances that will do that are few, this happens to contain two of them. We will not know if they are in sufficient quantities to do so, until we try it. Should it do so, please do not be alarmed. Samantha should remain unaffected. We use these substances to prove that a symbiote returning with a new host is indeed Tok'ra and is not suppressing their host; therefore, the host cannot be affected by them in order for them to work. You are fortunate that the tranquilizer you have works as well as yours does. If this serum also does that, then it will be something to keep and use as a Goa'uld tranquilizer, as it will act much more quickly than yours does, and you will need less. If you mean is it likely to harm Samantha or myself, other than that, then no, I do not believe so."

Janet frowned, asking, "If it puts you to sleep, then does that mean that the masking didn't work?"

"Not necessarily. It could simply mean that the quantities are not correct and we have included too much of the tranquilizing substances. We will simply have to reconfigure amounts if that happens. If it does happen, as I said, you must keep your instructions on its composition, since it can be used against the Goa'uld."

Janet nodded her understanding. "Okay, then, here's hoping," She told them, as she injected Sam.

Sam shrugged after nothing happened. "Well, it doesn't appear to have any…ah…let me revise that. Jolinar just passed out. Looks like you've perfected a Goa'uld tranquilizer, Janet. One that will, as Jolinar told us it would, work a little faster than what we have. Way faster."

Janet grinned. "Well, I suppose that's good, but even if it protects her from being sensed, it won't do any good, if it also keeps her asleep. So, when you get back, we'll get together and work on it. She probably knows which substances are causing this effect, and we can start cutting them down. There were several I wasn't sure I had right. We'll tweak them and see what happens next time."

As Sam stood from where she was sitting on the edge of a table, she nodded. "Good idea." Glancing at the clock, she realized she had very little time left. Thank goodness, Jolinar was also correct about this, too. The serum hadn't affected her at all. "Thanks, Janet, but I have to run. We're due to go off world in fifteen minutes. I've got to get going."

"No problem. Go, or you'll be late. Take care, Sam."

Sam grinned at her and waved, as she passed into the hallway and headed for the locker room.

TBC


	5. A Good Day to Die Ch 5 AAOF

_**Chapter Five Summary: **SG-1 leaves for Cimmeria, and things there are a little worse than they expected. While the Colonel and Teal'c try to slow the Jaffa down from finding where the villagers are, Sam, a still sleeping Jolinar, and Daniel set off to find "the Hall of Thor's Might" in hopes of finding a weapon to use against the Goa'uld that has invaded. They discover something surprising about the Tok'Ra. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13 _

_**Characters – **SG-1 which now includes Jolinar, Gairwyn, Olaf, Thor_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Five**_

_**A Good Day to Die**_

* * *

SG-1 stood in the embarkation room waiting for the technician to dial the Stargate, and O'Neill turned to Sam, asking, "So, does Jolinar have anything to say about this, Carter? No words of caution or suggestions of what we need to do?"

Sam grinned and then laughed. Her eyes sparkling, she turned to her commanding officer saying, "Nope, she's not saying a word, Colonel. She's quite content at the moment."

Jack O'Neill scowled. His second in command was aware of something that he wasn't, there was no doubt of that. "Okay, Carter, come clean. What's up with Jollie? I would think that as '_experienced_' as she is, she'd be trying to tell us how to run our team by now."

Sam immediately recognized the Colonel's emotions and realized that he was worrying that Jolinar, probably because the General turned the rescue attempt over to her, was going to either attempt to take over the team or prove to be a pain in the ass. She smiled slightly and shook her head. "Jolinar has no intention to either try to take over the team or be a pain. She'll give her knowledge in any given situation that you want it, but probably won't offer it, unless you ask for it, or she sees a definite pitfall to what you want to do. I was laughing because we tried out the serum Janet came up with, and it put Jolinar to sleep. She won't be saying much of anything, and we have no idea how long it will last. She may awaken while we're on Cimmeria, or it could be tomorrow, for all we know."

Jack's face was blank. "She's asleep? You can't wake her up?"

"Nope. Two of the substances in the masking serum are used to disable a symbiote, while a host is questioned to be sure that the symbiote is really who they say they are." She shrugged. "It seems to me to be a good precaution to take. I'm sure they will use it on us, as well, since I'm a new host. Once they know for sure who you are, then you can give your report, and they can be sure it's accurate and not deceptive in any way."

"I wish we'd had that stuff before."

"Yes, it would have come in handy." She frowned and looked at Daniel who was on the verge of questioning her. "I get the impression it doesn't last very long. That's probably why she didn't suggest it as a way to suppress Amaunet."

He sighed. Question answered. He could almost always count on Sam to follow his thoughts and reasoning, unless he made one of his illogical leaps. As usual, she had known what he was thinking before he was even able to voice his question. Looking back over at her, he grinned, "Thanks, Sam. If nothing else had convinced me that you were Sam and not Jolinar, then that answer before I even asked would have sealed it. I doubt that Jolinar could impersonate you well enough to do that."

Sam returned his grin, telling him, "Actually, eventually she may be able to. We'll become more and more one being as time goes on. It's really weird actually, because we still retain our own personalities, likes, dislikes, stuff like that, yet our thinking is beginning to blend in some ways. I think once we are fully blended and become closer, we'll influence each other quite a bit. I get the impression that many times the host and symbiote share the same emotions, though not always to the same degree. Well, unless it is something that either feels really strongly about. I mean, if she hated…oh, coffee, it wouldn't matter how much I love it, her opinion wouldn't change much—unless she wanted it to, and took on my emotions about it. On the other hand, if she just didn't care one way or the other, then eventually she would probably come to like it, but not necessarily to the extent that I do, if that makes any sense at all. Don't forget that I'm really guessing here, so don't take any of it for gospel. You'd have to talk to Jolinar about it to get the absolute truth about it."

Daniel nodded, as he gave her words some thought. His answer was thoughtful, "Yeah. Yeah, it does make sense, Sam. I mean, you are in each other's heads, but you probably still perceive things from your own point of view. Your minds haven't become one mind; they are still two, but they've, as the Tok'Ra say, blended—shared what the other knows. It makes sense that eventually the more intense emotions would be the dominant ones." He chuckled, saying, "If one of you falls in love with one person and the other with someone else that could be interesting. Eventually, you would love as one being, but probably not at the same intensity for both of you. That's a fascinating thought actually, Sam. You should ask her how that works. Incase either of you do come to love someone, so you'll know what to expect."

Sam frowned. "Yes, I think you might be right, Daniel. Jolinar said it would take time to come to know one another fully, so that's something I don't really know about that I probably should. Luckily, I have no boyfriend, significant other, fiancé, or husband. I'm not even carrying an old unrequited torch or flame, for anyone, so there shouldn't be a problem, if it does work that way."

The gate was being dialed as they talked, and they all turned toward it, as it settled into a beautiful blue undulating pool. Jack looked up to the control room. The General nodded, before bending down to the mike and telling them, "You have a go, Colonel O'Neill. God speed and keep your heads down. I expect to see all of you back here in one piece."

Giving a jaunty salute, Colonel Jack O'Neill grinned, replying, "Yes, Sir, and we plan to come back that way. We'll see you on the flip side. Then he turned and led his team up the ramp and into the unknown. At least, the final check of the M.A.L.P. showed everything was still quiet at the gate. He hoped it stayed that way, even if the hope was probably in vain.

Coming out the other side, they all immediately gave a thorough look around. Not seeing anyone, Sam told him, "No hostiles present at this time, Colonel."

Jack nodded, indicating he heard her statement. Sam and Daniel walked down the steps. Daniel went to the ruin of what was once the protection of this world, while Sam walked over to examine the body by the DHD.

Jack looked around the area and then glanced behind the Stargate. His mouth fell open, before he collected himself and breathed, "Holy…Ah, kids, I think you need to see this." His team gathered around him and looked at what he was seeing. A pyramid rose toward the sky. He blew out a silent whistle, as he murmured, "Now, that…is no weekend hunting lodge."

They all raised their weapons and turned as they heard a twig snap, but they relaxed when they realized who it was.

"Gairwyn!" Daniel immediately let her know that they recognized and remembered her. Both he and Sam went to her and each of them clasped one of her hands.

She clasped them back, as she exclaimed, "You returned! Kendra said that you would come. She never doubted it."

Sam squeezed her hand in understanding, and asked quietly, "What happened, Gairwyn?"

"We thought it was Ragnarök."

"That's the Norse Armageddon. The end of the world," Daniel swiftly explained to them.

Gairwyn nodded, as she continued, "There was fire in the heavens. Five or six bursts in the sky in a straight line. But no sound. Then we heard an evil thunder and a great metal point came through the clouds.

Teal'c's jaw tightened. "That would be a Goa'uld Ha'tak." Seeing Jack looking at him with no understanding on his face, he added, "A Goa'uld Ha'tak is a pyramid ship."

"Ah, I see," Jack, said letting him know he now understood.

Gairwyn swallowed before continuing, "Kendra knew it was the Etins, even before the burning and killing started. Our village is gone and most of our farms, as well. We have lost much."

Daniel's brow furrowed, "Gairwyn, you said that Kendra knew we'd come. How did she know that?"

"She gave me a box and an address. She said to fly it through the portal. She said you would know what it meant. The cost of sending it was great," She whispered her final statement.

Sam squeezed her hand again, asking, "The men who died here?"

Gairwyn nodded, sadly, and moved closer to the bodies before replying, "My husband, and his brothers."

Sam touched her softly, whispering, "I'm so sorry, Gairwyn."

Suddenly a staff weapon blast came out of nowhere and hit the DHD. Jack swore and he and Sam grabbed Gairwyn, pulling her with them. They had allowed their attention to wander, and there were now two Jaffa not far from them. One was readying his staff weapon and pointing it at them, while the other blew on a horn of some type, obviously alerting the other Jaffa that there were intruders.

"All right, c'mon, get under cover. Teal'c!"

Sam continued pulling Gairwyn with her and Daniel joined her in getting her away, as there was a burst of weapons fire behind them. Not feeling he was getting anywhere, Jack changed tactics. Squatting down behind the broken Hammer, he pulled out a grenade and then pulled its pin before lobbing it at the Jaffa. It landed behind them and exploded, sending both of them flying. He and Teal'c stood with their weapons raised, waiting. As more Jaffa made their way toward them, Jack decided that, perhaps, they should rethink that strategy as well, and patting Teal'c on the arm, he told him, "Let's go."

They headed into the woods with the Jaffa chasing them and occasionally firing a shot at them, but not very successfully. The chase continued with the Jaffa continuing to fire at them, as they led them farther and farther into the woods. As the Jaffa ran into a clearing, they looked around, realizing they had lost their quarry. They signaled each other before taking off in another direction. Once they were sure they were gone, Jack and Teal'c made their way cautiously from behind a very large tree.

Sam, Daniel, and Gairwyn watched from their hiding place as Jack and Teal'c took off into woods, with the Jaffa following. They were moving away from the place where they were hiding. Once they were sure there were no more Jaffa coming, they started to follow Gairwyn as she led them toward the cave where her people were hiding. They walked silently and slowly, keeping careful watch. Each of them was also busy with their own thoughts. After quite some time had passed, they heard a rustling from the path in front of them, and all three of them crouched into the nearest hiding place. Gairwyn pulled her sword from the scabbard thrown across her back.

The footsteps neared her hiding place and when they were very close, she leapt from her cover and brought her sword up to attack the intruders.

Jack O'Neill stepped backward, as she sprang in front of him. "Ahh! Jeeze, you guys could give a guy a heart attack."

As they all realized that they were safe, they lowered their weapons, sighing in relief at the sight of the Colonel and Teal'c.

"Well, one thing about it, if you didn't scare them to death first, you would definitely have taken a bunch of them out. Nice place for an ambush," Jack nodded to Gairwyn, letting her know that he was approving of their actions. Then, just to make sure he hadn't missed something, he wanted to know, "Is everybody all right?"

Gairwyn nodded quickly, before turning and looking questioningly at the two people she knew the best, and Sam also nodded, as she replied, saying, "Yeah, we're all fine, Colonel."

"All right, then. Where to from here? Any suggestions?" Jack also looked at his two youngest team members to see if they had any ideas.

Daniel looked thoughtful for a moment, before pointing out, "Well, as a former Goa'uld host, Kendra might well be a help." He turned to Gairwyn, "Can you take us to her?"

Gairwyn paused and then, looking a little unhappy, she nodded, saying quietly, "This way," before she turned and led the way into the forest. The team followed her silently.

They finally reached a clearing marked with animal antlers and ceremonial adornments. It was clearly a gravesite. Gairwyn explained, "Kendra and her family reside here. Hopefully, she is now with Thor." She stood next to Kendra's grave and there was obviously a very deep sorrow about her. "She was my dearest friend. She was good, kind, and used her knowledge only to heal, yet this is her reward. They have already killed half of our people.

Teal'c and O'Neill wandered around the gravesite, while Daniel sat quietly nearby. Sam walked over to Kendra's grave and looked over her possessions, which were placed near her grave.

Gairwyn looked over at her, as she explained, "It is customary to leave a person's favorite items outside their grave to take with them on the journey to Thor. These items are of no use to any of us. They belong with Kendra."

Daniel watched Sam, as she sat down and slowly reached for the ribbon device. Feeling somewhat nervous, since she did not appear to be aware of what she was doing, he continued to watch her, as she fit the ribbon device onto her fingertips.

He cleared his throat, before attempting to get her attention, "Ah, Sam, should you really be putting that on? I mean, you don't know what will happen, now that um, well you know your abilities have changed." He felt rather than saw Gairwyn look at him, but he kept his own eyes glued to Sam watching what she was doing.

While she was examining the device, it suddenly glowed, startling her and alarming, both Gairwyn and Daniel. She turned her palm away and the light slowly died, however, Daniel was already standing and walking toward her.

Gairwyn looked at her with awe, as she exclaimed, "You have the power!"

Sam looked up at her, asking, "What?"

"Well, it does make sense, Sam. After all, I am sure that there is a _perfectly good reason_ that your abilities are coming out more and more."

"Well, yeah, Daniel, I suppose so, but…I have no control over this. I mean, I didn't activate it on purpose, it just started to glow."

"Kendra said it took her years to master the magic of the power," Gairwyn told her. "Perhaps it will just take more time."

"Yes, I suppose you could be right," Sam agreed, as she glanced down at her hand once more. Her private opinion was that once Jolinar was awake and showed her how to use it, she would be much more capable with it.

Jack walked up to the quietly conversing group, saying, "What do you think? Are we about ready to move outta here?"

"Uh—we've had a little discovery here. It seems that Sam can use Goa'uld technology.

Jack seemed intrigued by the idea and immediately asked, "Really? Let's see."

"Colonel, I don't seem to have any control over this. It seems to have a mind of its own."

"Concentrate, Captain Carter. It will just take practice, I am sure," Gairwyn assured her quietly.

Sam nodded and held her arm out with her palm facing the ground well in front of her. She began to focus and the more she did, the more comfortable she felt. It wasn't long, until the device began to glow and then punched a hole in the ground. The other three watching were startled, but Sam simply turned it over and examined it.

Alarmed, Jack reached out to pull her hand down, as he scolded, "Hey. Hey. Watch where you're pointing that thing, Carter."

"Oh, sorry, Sir. I guess I wasn't thinking."

"Sam, you'll be able to use that against the Goa'uld, and you'll be able to use the healing device, as well. This is…this is great. I hadn't even considered that before now."

Sam nodded and after taking off the ribbon device, she put on the healing device.

"Just…you know, concentrate, like you did with the other thing," Daniel encouraged her.

However, after struggling to activate it, she finally stopped, shaking her head, "I can't do this one. I think it takes an even more focused energy, and I don't know how to do that, yet. I'd probably have to work with it more."

Gairwyn nodded, but told her, "You mustn't give up. You must strive to master control of the power, but from what Kendra told me, I believe that it will take time."

Glancing around, Jack told them, "Yeah, well, that's going to have to wait. Why don't you bring that stuff with you? We should find a place that's a little less public."

Gairwyn nodded her agreement, telling them, "Let me show you where my people hide. It is not a great distance from here." Turning to Sam, she spoke quietly, "Please, do as your friend tells you. You can make use of these things. Please, take them. I believe that Kendra would like to know that you have them."

Sam looked at her for a long moment and determining that she was being sincere, she nodded, "Thank you. I appreciate it, and I will take care of them."

Gairwyn nodded her acceptance, and Sam bent down and picked up the devices. This was something Jolinar said they should have. Now they did. It would make their next mission that much easier, and no doubt, Jolinar could use the healing device, as well.

After walking for a time through the forest, they came to a rocky outcropping covered with moss. There was a doorway, and Gairwyn led them through it. Gathered inside the torch-lit cave were the other Cimmerian survivors. Kettles were set up for cooking, and it was clear that they were doing their best to survive. O'Neill's jaws clenched, as he looked around at the children. Damned Goa'uld.

The few Cimmerian men remaining drew their swords, as Gairwyn entered the cave with the members of SG-1. One man eyed them pugnaciously before telling them, "Halt."

Gairwyn sighed tiredly, as she told him, "Olaf, these are friends. They came to us through the ring."

He was very angry, and it was plain that he would be just as happy to slice them up as look at them. "These are the dogs of Midgard. Thor has abandoned us to the Etins because of them, because they destroyed Thor's Hammer. It is these that brought this upon us."

Gairwyn shook her head at him, and sighed again, as she rebuked him, "And it is these who can save us. With their help, we can still summon the power of Thor."

He continued to argue with her, "Don't you understand, woman? Thor has abandoned us because of their evil."

Jack only had one nerve left, and this guy was beginning to get on it. Exasperated, he told him, "Oh, for crying out loud. Don't you understand that this woman is right? We can help you, if you'll let us, and considering that she lost her husband and brothers, in order to summon us for you, I would think you would show a little more respect to her. Listen to what she says. If we weren't going to help you, why would we come here at all? We could have simply ignored you."

"How? How can you help us?" The man demanded, still not convinced that they were really here to, or even could, help them.

"We've fought the Goa'uld and beaten them before," Sam spoke to him quietly and then shrugged, as she paused. Looking at him steadily, she continued, "I'm not saying we can always win, but at least we're willing to give it a shot and, at the moment, we appear to be your only choice."

Teal'c looked at him stoically, "Furthermore, I will remain here to do battle with you, until the Goa'uld are driven from this land, or I am dead."

After giving them a short time to talk amongst themselves, Jack told them, "Of course, we have to know what we're up against first." Then giving the younger man a hard look, he questioned him, "You willing to help us on that one?"

Olaf nodded, informing them, "I know a way around the patrols. I will take you."

Jack nodded. "Great, let's get going. We probably don't have a lot of time."

As Sam laid out the Goa'uld implements, Gairwyn and Daniel discussed their situation. Gairwyn sighed, obviously disconsolate, "If Olaf is right, and Thor has rejected us, our last hope lies with you."

Speaking to her gently, Daniel tried to reassure her, "Gairwyn, I really doubt that Thor's angry. Even if he was angry, he would be angry at us, not at you. You've done nothing wrong. I suspect that he's just very far away, and that's why he left the Hammer to protect you, because he knew he wouldn't be able to watch over you more closely."

She nodded her understanding, even as she told him, "If only we could gain access to the Hall of Thor's Might. I know he would help us."

Daniel sat down next to her, asking, "Wh-What is the Hall of Thor's Might?"

"It is in the ancient tales. They tell of a hall in which Thor placed all of his powers to help and defend us."

"That could very well signify some sort of Asgard weapon…or weapons, and we need all the help we can get," Daniel frowned, as he gave the idea some thought.

Sam had been following the conversation, and she looked at Daniel, asking, "Do you think they might have kept weapons hidden here somewhere?"

Daniel shrugged, indicating he had no idea, before turning back and asking, "Gairwyn, where is this…Hall of Thor's Might? Do you know?"

* * *

While Daniel and Sam discussed the possibility of finding and using the weapons in Thor's Hall of Might, Teal'c, O'Neill, and Olaf, made their way to a vantage point.

Olaf pointed telling them, "There." O'Neill grimaced. In the distance, three pyramids reached for the sky, and there were Jaffa everywhere.

Jack turned to Olaf, asking him, "Can you wait here?"

At Olaf's nod of assent, he and Teal'c moved forward a few more yards and ducked down. Once he was satisfied with their position, O'Neill took out his binoculars and scouted the area. The helmets the Jaffa were wearing were very different than those of Apophis's troops.

Turning to Teal'c, he asked him, "What's with the heads?" as he handed over his binoculars. "They look like those guys who used to be with Ra back on Abydos."

After taking a look, Teal'c, handed the binoculars back. He was looking very unhappy. "They are Horus. They guard the family of Ra. These probably guard the Goa'uld Heru'Ur."

"So, he would be Ra's what? Cousin? Uncle? What?" O'Neill asked, as he took another look at them.

"He is the son of Ra…and of Hathor," Teal'c's reply was, if possible, even more stoic than usual."

"Wonderful. Great. Nice pedigree. Crap."

Teal'c nodded, once, before explaining, "He is a very powerful System Lord, and is much feared, even among the Goa'uld. He is a conqueror. He eliminates all who dare tread in his shadow, including other Goa'uld. He is also a sworn enemy of Apophis."

As they lie quietly and watched the activity around the pyramids, some noise from the area where they left Olaf, alerted them to the fact that some Jaffa had captured him, and that he was now struggling in the grip of the guards holding him. "Damn," O'Neill hissed, under his breath. From within the protection of the armored Jaffa, one in golden armor with his helmet raised and covering his face approached him.

Recognizing him as Heru'Ur, Teal'c was not surprised when he demanded, "Kneel before your god!"

Olaf faced him, still struggling against the Jaffa, "My God is Thor. He taught us to stand as equals."

"Your god cannot help you now. Only I can. Strangers came through the device you call the portal. Who are they?"

One of the Jaffa grabbed Olaf around the neck, but Olaf did not tell them anything.

"Answer! Answer! Answer!" Heru'Ur demanded.

O'Neill and Teal'c aimed their weapons, as Olaf, still in the grip of the Jaffa, told him, "Thor taught us to have…no fear of death."

Heru'Ur approached even closer, and asked him, "But did he teach you of pain?" As Heru'Ur used his ribbon device on Olaf, O'Neill and Teal'c, fired into the group of Jaffa, killing one of the guards holding Olaf. The Jaffa were startled and unsure of what had occurred. Heru'Ur turned on his personal shield, as some of his Jaffa fell around him. Using the confusion, Teal'c and O'Neill ran in and grabbed Olaf from them, pulling him away, as Heru'Ur watched them.

As they left the area, Teal'c paused and turned to look back. Heru'Ur was reaching for a staff weapon, but Teal'c got to it first, shooting it with his own. The Horus god glared at him, his eyes glowing, as Teal'c stared him down. He then turned and followed O'Neill and Olaf up a hill. Heru'Ur remained standing, and glowering, after the three escapees, as his remaining Jaffa gathered around him. Turning to them, he began to issue orders.

Olaf, Jack, and Teal'c, returned to the cave, and Daniel looked up, as they entered. Standing up, he walked over to them, asking, "What happened? Did you run into Apophis?"

Jack's answer was laconic, "Not exactly."

"It was the Goa'uld Heru'Ur, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c informed him.

"You're kidding!" Daniel's exclamation was almost awed.

"Friend of yours, Daniel?" Jack asked, at his sarcastic best.

"Well, he's pretending to be Horus, the Elder, an ancient Egyptian God and a pretty mean one, which isn't exactly good news for us or these people. Of course, considering that his parents were Ra and Hathor, that was to be expected, I guess."

"Yeah. I know. Teal'c kind of explained his family tree to me, while we were taking a look at the building site."

Sam had joined them and hearing that, she asked him, "Well, Sir, did you find anything we can use? Any weak areas?"

"Well, Carter, the good news is that with enough explosives, we could turn those pyramids into so much dust. I don't think that when General Hammond told us to be sure to take extra ordinance, he had this type of thing in mind, but at least we have more than we would normally have with us."

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, as he read between the lines of that statement. Removing his hand, he looked up at Jack, asking, "Okay, and the bad news is?"

"The bad news, Daniel Jackson, is that the Stargate is now heavily guarded, and the Goa'uld are very much aware of our existence here. It also appears that there will be at least three Ha'taks arriving within the not too distant future." It was a longer than normal speech for Teal'c, and Daniel stared at him for a long moment, even more astonished, when he calmly added, "Heru'Ur…is not happy."

In response to Teal'c's last comment, Daniel snorted and borrowed one of Jack's remarks, saying, "Ya think?" Deciding that probably wasn't enough of an answer, to the understatement, he addressed it, "Um, yeah, I can see where, knowing a little about his ancestry, and therefore, his probable personality, Heru'Ur _might just possibly _be somewhat unhappy to find us here killing his Jaffa and trying to rescue these people."

Sam sighed and deciding this had gone on long enough, she brought them back to what, to her, was a more important point, "That means we won't be able to evacuate the Cimmerians."

Daniel nodded, and blew out an unhappy breath, saying, "Yeah. I guess we'll just have to hold up in here awhile, until things calm down."

Jack, Teal'c, and Sam stared at him. "What?" Daniel asked, staring back at them.

Teal'c took it upon himself to answer, since both Sam and Jack seemed thoroughly dumbfounded by his remark, "Things will not calm down, Daniel Jackson. They will, in fact, calm up.

Jack moved his stare from Daniel to Teal'c, as did Sam. Turning back to his other two teammates, he pointed out, "He means things will escalate, of course. I'm afraid we're on our own, kids."

"I suppose we could use the C-4 to blow up the camps, Colonel," Sam was frowning in thought, even as she made the comment.

Jack rolled his shoulders, before telling her, "That's true, but there's a small practical problem with that, Carter. Even with the extra C-4 that we brought, there isn't enough to blow up the camps, and then the ships and the gliders, when they show up. Besides, even if we managed all of that, we're still stuck here with Jaffa guarding the Stargate, and unless he was on a ship when it blew, a pissed off Goa'uld that would be even more pissed off."

Sam sighed. He was right. They had brought extra, but not enough to do everything, including taking out the guards at the gate. She nodded, and then added, "Even if the General were to engage a wormhole, once he sees what's around the gate, he won't be able to send back-up through." She stopped, and then said, "Well, unless someone thought to maybe send some grenades and a couple of missiles through, and I doubt that anyone would think to do that. So, yeah, you're right. We're pretty much on our own."

Daniel cleared his throat, before quietly pointing out, "Well, there's another option that we should, um, at least consider. Gairwyn tells us that there's a legend around here about a Hall of Thor's Might."

It was Jack's turn to sigh, "Daniel…there's a time and a place for mythology. This is not it, believe me."

It was Sam's turn to clear her throat, before pointing out, "With all due respect, Sir, we thought Thor's Hammer was a myth, until we proved it was real. What if this is real, too?"

Daniel nodded. "Jack, I think Thor's Might may refer to…uh…an alien weapon or weapons that have been hidden away for centuries. I can't be sure, of course, but isn't it worth a try? Gairwyn said she would take us to the place where it's supposed to be."

"There's no doubt that we could certainly use the firepower, Sir," Sam reminded him. "I mean, even if it's a long shot, if it _is _something like that, then it could only help. If, not, well, then we've at least checked it out."

After giving it a little thought, O'Neill turned to Daniel and Sam, telling them, "Well, much as I hate to admit it, it sounds like our old buddy Thor might be our best bet. Why don't you two try to find this…weapon…or whatever it is. Teal'c and I will lay some explosives; see if we can slow the attack, at least until you come back with…whatever."

"Yes, Sir."

Jack turned to Olaf, "You ready to go see if we can cause some damage to the enemy?"

Olaf smiled.

* * *

Gairwyn led them to a Norse monument similar to Thor's Hammer. It contained a red, jewel-like stone in the center of a ring near the top. Gairwyn moved around to the front of it along with Daniel and Sam before stating, "This is it."

Daniel stared at the monument for a moment before turning back to Gairwyn, and asking, "This is it? This is the Hall of Thor's Might?"

Looking puzzled, Gairwyn asked a question of her own, "You were expecting something different?"

After a short pause, he told her, "Well…uh…maybe a "hall"?"

Sam looked around the area, commenting, "I don't see anything that could be a weapon, Daniel. I mean, there isn't even a mound of dirt that it could be buried under or…anything."

"I am very sure that this is it. We have always been told that this is Thor's Hall of Might."

Daniel stared at the obelisk for a while, before taking a deep breath and telling them, "Okay. Well, maybe this will send us somewhere else, you know, like the obelisk sent Jack and Teal'c to Thor's Hammer."

Sam shrugged, before she agreed. "Well, it can't hurt to try, Daniel, and at the moment, it's all we've got to go on. Go ahead and try it."

Gairwyn looked alarmed. "You cannot. It is forbidden to touch the stone."

He turned and smiled at her a bit, before telling her, "We have to try something, Gairwyn. Believe me, the worst that will probably happen, is that nothing will happen. It'll be okay, I'm, um, I'm sure." He nodded decisively. Sam and Gairwyn stood close behind him, watching as he reached toward the red jewel in the circle. As it had Teal'c, a beam shot out engulfing the three of them.

They found themselves in total darkness. "Um, Daniel?" Sam was the first to speak.

However, Daniel was second, "Wow! What a ride!"

"Gairwyn, are you here with us…uh, wherever that may prove to be," Sam murmured the last half of her sentence."

The two teammates heard a gasp and a trembling response, "Yes. Yes, Captain Carter, I am here, as well."

Sam nodded, even though no one could see her. "Good, we're all here, we're all in one piece, and now we're ready for step two." She paused for a moment before asking, "Daniel, where are we?"

Daniel flipped on his flashlight, but he had it aimed at his eyes, and all she got for an answer was, "Ow!" A wince, and what looked like it might become a permanent squint, accompanied his exclamation.

Carefully pointing it away from her face, as most people would, Sam clicked on her own flashlight and swung it around, along with Daniel's, so they could begin to figure out where they might be.

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief after his first quick look around, declaring, "Well, this is a step in the right direction. At least it fits the definition of the word "hall"."

Sam shivered. "I have a really bad feeling about this, Daniel. Something is going to happen. I can tell."

Continuing to examine the walls, and completely ignoring Sam's comment, he murmured, "I don't understand. There are no inscriptions, no alien devices, and no visible way out. There has to be something here. There would be no reason to bring us here to nothing."

"Wait, Daniel." Sam shined her flashlight out across the floor, and a monument against a far wall showed up. The stone in the center began to glow red, and then a light appeared above it and shown down on it. The area shimmered for a second and then an image of a Viking in full dress and helmet appeared before them.

"I am Thor. You are brave to come before me."

Carter and Daniel both imitated fish, as they gaped at the apparition, but Gairwyn went down on one knee, telling him, "O mighty Thor, we need your help."

Once more the shimmering vision spoke to them, "However, only the worthy may witness Thor's might."

Gairwyn gasped and looked at him, before exclaiming, "Do you not think me worthy?"

The image disappeared, as quickly as it had come, and Gairwyn cried out, "Why has he forsaken me?"

Shortly after the first shock wore off, Sam figured out what they were seeing, "It's just a holographic recording, Gairwyn." Pointing upward, she told her, "It's being projected through that hole in the ceiling."

Not being completely convinced, Daniel, looked over at her, and replied, "Oh, yeah, if you say so. You sure couldn't prove it by me."

Sam shrugged. "Whether you believe me or not doesn't matter at this point, Daniel. What matters is…what does it mean, and what do we do now?"

"I'm not really sure, Sam. Maybe somehow we have to prove that we're worthy, before he'll trust us with his _Might_. That would seem logical from his speech."

"Which you still think is a weapon, right?"

Sounding concerned, he answered, telling her, "I'm sure hoping so, at this point."

Gairwyn still looked bewildered by everything that was happening to her, "But…how can we prove our worth? Must we hunt something or bring him an offering showing that we are worthy? Does he wish us to vanquish this enemy on our own to prove our worth? Would he not realize that we have no weapons with which to defeat the Etins?"

Sam shook her head and laid her hand on her shoulder, "No, Gairwyn, it wouldn't be something like that, I'm positive. He knows you don't have the ability to take on someone like Heru'Ur alone."

Daniel frowned, as he once more looked around the room at the empty walls. Nodding toward the obelisk, he told them, "Well, as the rest of the room is empty, I'm going to assume that it has something to do with the stone."

As the room suddenly began to shake around them, Gairwyn became distraught and alarmed once more, crying out, "Thor is preparing to strike us down!"

Daniel turned to her and told her, very firmly, "No. No, he's not! He's—he's not a wrathful god. Why would he strike you down? You haven't done anything wrong, even if he was that kind of god…which he isn't. So, so, just stay calm, and don't jump to conclusions. Please, Gairwyn," he added, in a softer tone, "Please, trust us to take care of you and find out what this is all about, okay?"

Drawing a deep, if shaky, breath, she nodded, "Y—yes, Daniel, I will try. You have been nothing but good to us. I do not believe you would lie to me."

He smiled slightly, "No. No, Gairwyn, we wouldn't lie to you."

"Well, then, Daniel, if he isn't a wrathful god, and I believe you on that, then what in the world is he doing? Is this a test of some kind maybe?" Sam asked, waving her hand in front of her face, as dust flew around them, and the shaking continued.

As they stood waiting to see what would happen next, the floor in front of them crumbled away, leaving one narrow strip leading to the obelisk on the other side of the room. Daniel sighed. "Oh, I'm pretty sure you got it, Sam. This is…this is definitely a test of some kind."

Sam and Daniel both turned their lights to shine, first into the pit, and then across it to the monument on the other side. Sam frowned. "So, uh…you think the test is for us to go across this to reach the monument, then? I don't know how that would prove our worth, but, well, if you think that's what this is then, I guess we better get started."

Daniel nodded, before replying, "Yeah…uh, I don't suppose this is the best time to bring up my problem with heights, is it?"

Sam and Gairwyn turned as one, and stared at him in silence, along with something nearing disbelief. "No, I kind of thought you wouldn't think this was a real good time," he murmured to them.

Finally, Sam shook her head, "That's okay, Daniel. I had to cross something way worse in basic training, so…I'll, um, I'll go first."

"Oh, well then, sure, please, be my…be my guest. After all, it is, um, ladies first and all that kind of, ah, gentlemanly stuff."

"Then again," Sam murmured, as if to herself, "we had a net. Okay, Carter, you can do this. Come on. Come on," she chided herself. She took one more deep breath and released it. Then raising her arms to balance herself, she began walking very carefully along the narrow pathway. Daniel kept his flashlight along the path for her, and she made it safely to the other side. She stood facing the monument and breathing, for a few moments, before turning to face them, as she stood near the obelisk. Daniel started to breathe again.

Returning their gazes, she said, "It really wasn't too bad, so, just, you know, take your time. You know, this isn't a race with a time limit or anything. So, go slow and you'll do fine."

Gairwyn swallowed nervously, and then edged out onto the beam. Sam silently mouthed words of encouragement, just before she stumbled. Righting herself, she once more began to step slowly forward.

All at once, the beam began shaking, and Gairwyn cried out, as she fell down onto it, her legs and hands holding onto it tightly.

Sam squatted down and reached for her, saying, "Gairwyn!" but the woman sobbed in fear, obviously too frightened to be able to hear Sam talking to her. Sam continued to try to calm her and garner her attention, telling her how to maneuver across the beam, "Gairwyn, listen to me. Listen. Just…just slide across it. You don't have to stand, just slide this way. You can do it; I know you can."

Gairwyn shook her head, as she cried out, "Thor shook the beam! He wants me dead!"

Daniel, immediately spoke to her, "No, Gairwyn. No, he does _not_ want you dead. This is probably all part of the test, so just, um, just relax for a minute."

Sam realized how very frightened the woman must be. She truly feared that her God was punishing her or wanted her dead. She softened her voice, as she coaxed her to remain calm. "It's okay, Gairwyn. Just stay there and I'll come get you. I'll be there in just a bit, so just, please, stay calm and hold on, until I get there."

Before Sam could start across, Daniel told her, "No, Sam. I'll do it. You're already across, but I still need to get there. It makes more sense for me to help her, so, just…just stay there."

Sam stood, as she nodded her agreement, since it did make more sense than her going back.

Daniel stepped carefully onto the beam, and as he slowly approached her, he reassured her, his voice as soothing as he could make it, "I'm right behind you now, Gairwyn. I'm almost there."

As Gairwyn sobbed in fear, Daniel squatted down behind her, "Okay…this is what we're going to do here. You're going to give me your hand, and I'm going to help you get back on track. Then we're going to finish this thing together. Okay?"

No longer sobbing, Gairwyn nodded nervously, but firmly, and then moved her arms to raise herself. Suddenly a piece of the beam crumbled from under her hands, and she lost her balance. She screamed and tumbled over the side, along with Daniel, as Sam watched in horror. She quickly turned her light to where they fell, and gasped when she saw a solid floor, where only a moment ago, there was nothing more than a beam and a pit. Daniel and Gairwyn were safely raising themselves from where they were sitting.

Taking another deep breath, she asked them, "Are, um, you guys okay? You look okay, so, well, so…uh…what was that all about?"

Suddenly, a light burst forth and once again, the figure of Thor the Viking stood before the monument. Daniel and Gairwyn rose to their feet, and came over to stand next to Sam. All three of them watched the image.

It began speaking to them, "You have shown true selflessness and bravery. Willingness to sacrifice oneself to save another is an honorable trait. I salute you. Now, you must add wisdom to courage. Solve the riddle of the runes, and I will show you my true might."

Once more Thor vanished, and the three of them slowly approached the monument. Sam and Daniel both trained their flashlights on it.

"Sam, how did he know what we did?"

"There must be some sort of advanced sensors in here. So, um…now what?"

Another light came from the monument, and they found themselves in another room. In the center of the room, a fire burned in a kettle like pit. Each of the walls had various symbols on them.

Daniel shrugged, and answered the question Sam asked, before their latest ride. "Now, I guess we try to solve the riddle of the runes."

* * *

Jack and Teal'c planted more claymores, as Olaf kept watch from a tree not far away. He soon spied some Jaffa approaching, though they were still some way away, and he called to them, "Sons of Midgard! The Etins approach! It is a large contingent, and they are coming up the lower path.

As he reached the ground, O'Neill and Teal'c ran past him away from the Jaffa. Olaf looked after them, disturbed that they were running away. He raised his axe declaring, "We must fight!"

O'Neill returned and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him away, and telling him, "Yeah, yeah, yeah," before pushing him to the ground behind the safety of some cover. Once in position, Jack pulled out the remote detonating devices for the claymores.

Olaf looked at them in disgust, "You said you would help us fight the Etins."

Teal'c murmured, "Quiet."

As the Jaffa came up the path, O'Neill triggered a mine, blowing up one of them. Another explosion dispensed with a few more. After two more explosions, dead and injured Jaffa littered the path. O'Neill and Teal'c left their cover and repositioned themselves, before taking aim at more of the advancing Jaffa. When they were close enough, both O'Neill and Teal'c opened fire and continued shooting, until all of the Jaffa appeared to be taken out. They cautiously looked at the dead Jaffa, as they assessed the threat, and Olaf came out from behind the cover of the trees.

He looked at them this time with respect. "Thunder! And fire! You do possess Thor's might." Then, suddenly giving a battle cry, he threw his axe toward the two of them, but actually at the Jaffa who was standing behind them and aiming his staff weapon at them. His axe caught the Jaffa and he fell. Olaf moved to stand beside the other two, and then he smiled as he patted O'Neill on the shoulder. Beaming at them, he proudly announced, "Now we are matched." As far as Olaf was concerned, he'd paid his debt for their earlier rescue of him from Heru'Ur.

"Thanks," O'Neill told him. "Nice throw, good aim."

"Indeed," Teal'c added, his facial expression stoic.

They could hear a Jaffa alarm in the distance, and Teal'c turned to them saying, "O'Neill, another patrol approaches. We should leave this area immediately."

Olaf nodded, as he told them, "Come." They turned and followed him.

As the three men headed back toward the cave, they could hear the Jaffa horns in the distance. "What's going on, Teal'c?"

"They are signaling their position, O'Neill. They will close into an interlaced pattern that will sweep in and corner us. It is an old Jaffa hunting technique."

Teal'c heard him murmur, "Come on, Daniel," as they continued to make their way through the woods.

* * *

Daniel blew some dust out of one of the carvings on the wall, as he walked along it trying to figure it out.

Sam was beginning to become anxious, as she felt that time was running out. "Daniel, we don't have time for this. The Colonel and Teal'c could be in trouble and needing us."

"Sam, the faster we solve the riddles, the faster we get whatever Thor's might is."

She gave in, as she realized that he was right. They'd come this far; they couldn't afford to stop now. Looking around them, she murmured, "Riddles. Well, okay."

Gairwyn turned to Daniel, asking him, "Is Thor testing us?"

Daniel shook his head. "Actually, Gairwyn, I think it may be some sort of safeguard. I believe that he wants to be sure that whoever finds the weapons is smart enough to understand the technology, and use it wisely. It's like he wants to be sure his children have grown up enough before he uh…hands them the keys to the armory, which might not have been a bad idea, if we'd done the same thing on Earth." He wandered over to another wall to try to read and understand its purpose.

Feeling exasperated and anxious, Sam turned to him, saying, "Well, it doesn't make sense that he would waste time when the planet's under attack."

"Well, I suppose so, but remember, he thinks this is a protected planet. He believes that his anti-Goa'uld devices are infallible. I mean, he couldn't know there'd be any hurry to find whatever Thor's might is."

Sam sighed, telling him, "Well, Daniel, there is a hurry." She waved her hand at the wall, asking, "Can—Can you solve this?"

After giving a rather deep sigh himself, he began the attempt to unlock the riddle. "Uh…okay. So, um, they aren't letters or words. Originally, runes were ideographic."

Sam nodded that she understood, saying, "So each rune stands for an idea."

"Yes. Right. This first one relates to Thor's protective power."

"That could mean anything, Daniel. It could be the Goa'uld detector they put up at the Gate or even the hammer device."

Daniel continued to walk along the wall, talking aloud, as he did so. "Um…this last one represents a wagon, but it was also called Thor's Chariot. Now, that could be a…spaceship."

"Great. So, what about the middle two?"

He turned back along the same wall, "Um…One is a dice cup, or Fate. The other is a horse or…movement."

Daniel walked up to the wall with the engraved geometric shapes and gazed at it again, before commenting to Sam, "I've never seen simple geometric shapes in any runes. I have no idea what these are about."

"Well, if we don't come up with an answer soon, we'll have to find a way out. They'll need our help, Daniel."

Gairwyn gazed at a wall that was painted with Norse symbols and other pictographs. Turning toward him, she asked, "Daniel…could the answer be here?"

"No, I don't think so, Gairwyn. Those aren't runes, they're pictographs."

Sighing yet again, he once more started to think aloud. "Okay. One wall has runes, one has pictographs, and one has simple geometric shapes." He turned and looked at all of the walls. "I have no idea what he wants us to do."

Behind them, the holographic Viking appeared once more and began to speak to them. "There is no shame. Perhaps in more time, you will have come of age."

Stepping up to it, Daniel held up one of his fingers, and told him, "Uh, excuse me. Could you, uh…Could you uh…please just…one second? I'm not quite ready to give up just yet."

They all stared at it in surprise, as the image froze. Daniel took that as his cue that he could continue to work on the riddles. Therefore, he turned away from Thor and returned to studying the runes. "Okay. Norse runes were ideas, but in later years, they became letters. But, they were also numbers. Three…fourteen…fifteen…nine." He sighed once more, telling them, "It's no use. It—It doesn't mean anything, at least, not to me."

Sam blinked at it. "Yes, it does, Daniel."

Daniel turned to look at her, surprise clearly showing on his face. "It does?"

"Yes. It does. 3.141 59. It's pi!"

"It's pi?"

"Pi!"

Daniel turned to the image of Thor, and said, "It's Pi. Is that what you wanted us to figure out?" He turned back to Sam, stating, "Right. Okay, "Pi" is an Earth term. We have to depict it somehow." He looked around, and his gaze settled on the other wall. "The geometric shapes. That has to be the reason they are there."

He and Sam walked over to the wall together. Feeling around inside the circle, he realized that it was soft, like sand. "This has to be it, Sam."

She nodded, telling him, "Pi is used to find the circumference of a circle by measuring the radius."

"The radius. I think I can do that," Daniel told her, as he drew a line with his finger from the center of the circle to the bottom. In a moment, the sand slid away leaving a red stone with the gold symbol of a hammer in it. Still not believing that it could be something so simple, he looked at Sam, and asked, "That's it? That's all there is to it?"

"Well, maybe, but, I kind of doubt it since nothing is happening. Try pressing on the stone, Daniel," Sam suggested.

Daniel pushed on the stone, a light beamed out from behind them, and they turned toward the monument. The image of Thor wavered and then disappeared. A small, grey alien with large black eyes stood in its place. All Carter, Daniel, and Gairwyn seemed to be able to do was stare at it in incredulous surprise.

Finally, Daniel breathed, "Oh, my God."

That's when it spoke to them, saying, "I am the actual one…whom you know as Thor."

The three humans stood in stunned silence and stared at the small gray alien. The silence was absolute…at least for a moment or so.

* * *

Olaf led the way into the cave, and O'Neill spoke to him, calmly, "Olaf, get your people as far back into the cave as possible. Keep them quiet! Put the fires out."

As Teal'c entered the cave, Jack turned to him, asking, "How are we doing?"

"Not well. We have been located, O'Neill."

Jack sighed, as he once more quietly murmured, "Come on, Daniel."

* * *

Forcing herself to stop staring at the alien standing before them, Sam turned to Daniel saying, "Daniel, this is uncanny. It looks just like the descriptions of the Roswell Greys back home."

Daniel smiled at her. "I guess there's some truth to those stories, after all."

She glanced, over at him, asking, "So, you think the Asgard may have visited Earth?"

"Sure, why not? We've found out all kinds of other '_myths'_ are true. Why not this one, too?" He asked in return.

Suddenly, the small alien appeared to speak to them, "I am the Supreme Commander of the Asgard Fleet."

Gairwyn still appeared to be in shock, as she asked him, "How can this be?"

"In the ten-span, since I created this world, you are the first to reach this level of contact. You have finally grown wise enough to see me in my true form."

With a wave of her hand, Gairwyn indicated Sam and Daniel, telling Thor, "These are the wise ones. I would never have come this far without their help."

Sam placed her hand on her shoulder, before telling her, "Gairwyn, it's a hologram. The Asgard probably recorded it a thousand years ago. It can't hear you," she assured her.

Sam was stunned to hear him respond, explaining, "On the contrary. My image is a living transmission. I am communicating to you from my quarters aboard the Asgard ship _Biliskner_."

"You mean, uh, that you're the real…Thor?" Daniel found himself almost too overcome to talk; however, being Daniel, he managed just the same.

Thor blinked at him, and Daniel turned to look at Sam, before returning his attention to Thor, saying, "This is…this is…this is great. Um…We need your help. The Goa'uld are—are here."

"That is impossible. Cimmeria is a safe world."

Daniel looked extremely uncomfortable, but told him, just the same, "Uh, yeah, about that. Well, you see, we, um, we sort of messed that up."

"Oh, Daniel…be careful," Sam cautioned, but she had no idea what else they could tell him.

"Look, if we want them to be our friends, we have to show them they can trust us." Turning back to Thor, he told him, "You…you see, we came here about a year ago to meet you and your people to make an alliance against the Goa'uld. One of our party, a Jaffa, was trapped in your labyrinth."

"The Jaffa _serve_ the Goa'uld," Thor informed them.

Gathering her courage, Gairwyn stepped forward, assuring him, "This one does not. He stands with them, and now with us, to fight the Etins."

"You see, so we had no choice but to destroy the hammer to free our friend. We didn't know how to contact you, and we couldn't just…just…leave him there. We left information for you, with the Cimmerians, and hoped you would return soon, so that we could meet you and explain what happened. We didn't know what else to do in the circumstances."

"And by doing so, you have opened Cimmeria to attack by the Goa'uld," Thor responded quietly.

"Uh, yeah, apparently so. That's why we're here now."

Sam decided it was time to cut to the chase, and brought up the more pressing problem of fighting the Goa'uld, saying, "So, uh…if you have any weapons that might be of help, we would like to set things straight. We won't just leave them alone to try to fight the Goa'uld, but there are only four of us, and we, um, have limited resources. Since the Jaffa are guarding the Stargate, we can't return to Earth to gather reinforcements and more weapons of our own."

Thor blinked at them, before asking, "Weapons?"

"Isn't that what all those tests were here to protect?" Daniel asked him.

"The tests were designed to tell us when the Cimmerians would be advanced enough to see us as we really are. We did not anticipate outside interference.

"Yeah, well, you see, we didn't mean to interfere. That was not our intention…"

Suddenly the image of Thor sparkled and began to disappear. Alarmed, Daniel stepped forward, saying, "No, wait!"

A bright light engulfed the three of them and Daniel and Sam found themselves in the forest, once more standing before the obelisk. Gairwyn was not there.

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose. "Sam…where's Gairwyn?"

Sam sighed. "Good question, Daniel. I wish I had an answer. At any rate, I don't think there's much point in waiting for her to turn up. If I had to guess, I would be tempted to say that she's probably with Thor…or, er, somewhere."

Daniel opened his eyes and lowered his hand from the bridge of his nose, replying tiredly, "Yeah…or somewhere."

Turning, they walked away from the obelisk toward the cave.

* * *

Teal'c stood at the cave entrance, and he came to attention, as he spotted something outside. The Cimmerians were huddled inside the cave. Olaf stood and then bent over to pick up his axe, before walking over to O'Neill, who was seated, looking over his weapon. O'Neill stood, as he realized that Teal'c had seen something. A second later, Daniel and Sam entered the cave.

O'Neill walked over to them, "That's timing for you. The party's about to begin. I'd have hated for you to miss it."

Sam nodded, telling them, "They're getting pretty close, how many are out there?

Teal'c gave her the news, saying, "We are outnumbered approximately twenty to one."

Jack turned to Daniel saying, "You look suspiciously empty-handed."

Daniel winced, but still managed to roll his eyes at the comment. "Yeah."

"Yeah" what?"

Daniel sighed deeply, "There's nothing there, Jack."

For a moment, Jack looked surprised, as he said, "Nothing?"

"Well, Sir, we did meet the real Thor. He was, ah, something of a surprise."

Sarcasm dripping from his voice, he asked them, "Did you, now? Nice fella was he?"

Before the exchange could deteriorate farther, there was a loud squeal followed by an explosion. The Cimmerians gasped in fright.

Jack turned toward the cave opening, "All right. Here we go."

SG-1 left the cave and took cover outside of it, ducking as a burst from a cannon blasted apart a tree behind them. Some of the Cimmerian men followed them from the cave.

No one was surprised to see a Horus Warrior step forward and call to them, "Intruders from the Chaappa'ai! Throw down your weapons!" As the Cimmerians drew their own weapons, he continued, "Surrender now, and the slaves of this world will be allowed to live and serve Heru'Ur! Fight, and they will all die!"

"Colonel, we don't have enough weapons to go around."

"There is no doubt but that they will all be killed, O'Neill. Women and children included," Teal'c's voice was stoic, but anger at their situation simmered under it.

"Jack…we _are_ responsible for this invasion; we can't allow that to happen," Daniel chimed in quietly.

O'Neill turned to look behind him, and his gaze fell on a small child holding onto her father's leg. Sighing in resignation, he lifted his weapon and tapped the barrel on the stone behind which they were sheltering. He stood holding his gun in the air, followed by Sam and Daniel. Teal'c very reluctantly put his weapon down, as well.

It surprised them that the Horus Warrior signaled his men to stand down. They were not known for standing by their word.

Jack turned to Olaf, telling him, "Take care of your people. I wish we could have done more for you." Nodding solemnly, he shook O'Neill's hand.

"_Samantha, am I reading your memories correctly? We have been captured by Heru'Ur, and you have contacted Thor of the Asgard?" _ Jolinar awoke, as they began the long walk back to the Jaffa encampment accompanied by their guards.

"_Um, yeah. You've missed a few things." _

"_Yes, so I see. How long ago did you make contact with Thor?" _

Sam shrugged, as she was brooding over their failure. _"I don't know exactly. A half an hour, maybe more." _

Jolinar nodded, and her lack of alarm at being captured by a Goa'uld finally registered with Sam causing her to question her, _"Um, is there something I don't know about Heru'Ur that is keeping you from being just a little bit perturbed that we're his prisoners?" _

Jolinar shook her head, as she told her, _"There is nothing to be perturbed or worried about, Samantha. You and Daniel Jackson have taken care of any problems. All we must do now is wait." _

Sam was puzzled, but before she could question her any more, Daniel caught her attention. Walking beside Sam, he commented, "Before they rode into battle, the Sioux used to say, "This is a good day to die."

Jack backhanded him lightly on the arm, as a rumbling of thunder was heard in the distance. The guards and SG-1 all stopped walking and looked up at the clear blue sky, as the thunder continued to rumble. Their Jaffa guards were becoming quite nervous, and Jolinar was laughing softly in Sam's mind. Catching her thoughts, Sam gasped and then relaxed, as she now knew why Jolinar was so very unconcerned by their circumstances. _"How did you know?"_

Jolinar hesitated before saying, _"The Tok'Ra are…familiar with the Asgard and their worlds." _

Sam nodded her understanding; although, she continued to watch Daniel, as he stared ahead of them, his nimble mind making a leap and coming up with the right sum. She wasn't surprised to hear him answer his own statement, about it being a good day to die, casually remarking, "Then again, maybe not."

Still puzzled about the source of the noise, O'Neill stood looking back along the way from which they'd walked. Daniel was still staring up at something in the sky, as he blindly reached behind him, and patted Jack on his back, to get his attention.

Jack turned around to see what Daniel wanted and followed his gaze to the sky. He slowly pulled off his sunglasses, as he quietly stated, "Oh, my!"

A large roiling, black cloud continued to form, and the Jaffa became ever more nervous. As a very large ship descended from the heavens, Daniel quipped, "Ladies and gentlemen, I believe this is…Thor's chariot."

Teal'c gazed at it in fascination. Awe filled his voice and visage, as he quietly announced, "It is an Asgard mothership. I have heard them described in Jaffa legends, but never thought to see one for myself. It is truly a sight to behold."

Their nerves finally getting the best of them, the Jaffa accompanying SG-1 pointed their weapons toward the ship, instead of at their prisoners. They heard a continuous screech, and a bright beam of light flashed down from the ship. It first consumed their Jaffa escorts, leaving SG-1 safe and untouched, before proceeding to do the same to the remainder of Heru'Ur's Jaffa and their encampment. Once that was taken care of, it proceeded to annihilate the pyramids. Unfortunately, Heru'Ur slipped through the Chaappa'ai, before Thor could identify and take him, as well.

SG-1 stood alone on the road. The Jaffa were gone, the destruction of the pyramids was complete, and the encampment was no longer a part of the landscape. A bright light flashed behind them, and they turned toward it to see Gairwyn standing there smiling at them.

She walked up to them, obviously completely relaxed, as she informed them, "The Etins are gone. Thor sends you his thanks, and he said to tell you that he does not blame you for defending and saving your teammate and friend. He admires your kindness and loyalty, not only to each other, but also to us, a people you barely know. This incident has brought to his attention that there should be a device left behind by which he can be contacted in a time of need. It was your help that made all of this possible."

Daniel shook his head, telling her, "Well, to be honest with you, Gairwyn, I think we got kind of lucky."

She smiled at him, although, she did not dispute his remark. However, she had other messages to deliver, "He also told me to give you a message to satisfy your curiosity. I am to tell you that he is a member of a species who have visited your world often, and who still check on you from time to time. They are a friend to all, protector of all, except the Goa'uld, with whom they are at war."

Jack looked disgruntled, as he told her, "Well, that's all very nice, but, I'd still like to meet the old guy."

She shook her head, before replying, "Well, he said that, like us, your people are still much too young to interact with them, and that your knowledge of their existence is enough for now."

The team exchanged knowing smiles, even as Gairwyn turned to Sam. "Captain Carter, Thor gave me a special message for Jolinar." She paused, and did not appear alarmed, when the Tok'Ra came fore, flashing Sam's eyes, as she did.

Bowing in greeting, she said, "I am Jolinar. What did Thor wish me to know?"

"I am to tell you that your serum does not work, although it will make a very stable Goa'uld tranquilizer, which he assumed you already knew, though he doubted you knew that the cloaking did not work." She offered Jolinar a small tablet, saying, "He suggests that you try this formula. He said to tell you that it will keep you hidden for a longer span of time, than the one your people are using now, and it will act more quickly, as well. He is sincerely glad to see that you have met the people of Earth, and suggests that you add his deep approval of an alliance with them, when you approach the High Council. He also believes that it is time you took your seat among them." She frowned for a moment before adding, "Oh, and he said that everything I am to tell you is also written on the tablet, along with the formula. He felt that showing his council's approval of a Tok'Ra-Tau'ri alliance, in writing, would possibly prove to be beneficial, when the time came."

Jolinar smiled, as she took the tablet from her. "I thank you, Gairwyn. Your message is quite welcome, as is Thor's gift to us."

Gairwyn nodded her acceptance, and then turned her attention back to the other members of SG-1, who were staring at Sam and Jolinar, as if they had sprouted another head. Suddenly realizing that Gairwyn was once more looking at their entire group, they dragged their attention away from one face to look at another.

"For us, there is still much to rebuild. Thor has promised to send tools, seeds, food, and animals, as well as anything else that is needed to replace those things that the Etins destroyed. He has also promised to leave an Asgard teacher behind to help us. They will be welcome, even though they will be a shock to my people. However, they shall adjust to the reality of what Thor and his people are. We will be fine."

Teal'c nodded his head at her, saying, "Then Cimmeria will be a safe world once again. That is very good news indeed."

"Yes, it is. I am also to tell you that the obelisk and Thor's new Hammer will make an exception for the one called Teal'c. You are most welcome here, and we will be pleased to see you, at any time." She turned back once more to Sam/Jolinar, saying, "He will also be sure to include the recognition for your people again, as well as the scans of the others, including yourself, of course. You, and your people, too, are always welcome here, whenever you would choose to come. He has explained who and what you are, and we will be most happy to see any of your people, at any time."

Sam's head dipped in an acknowledgment of Gairwyn's words, "We sincerely thank you, Gairwyn. Your words are much appreciated."

When it appeared that Gairwyn had delivered all of her messages, O'Neill took a deep breath, and announced, "Well, kids, I guess we should be going. The General will start to wonder what's going on, if we don't either return or check in with them soon."

The other members of the team nodded in agreement, but Daniel turned to Gairwyn, telling her, "I'm glad things worked out for your people, Gairwyn, but I am sorry for your losses. We'll send another box through, so that you can contact us should the need arise. Will that be all right?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, that would be quite welcome, Daniel, for one never knows, and although in a dire emergency, such as this was, we will now be able to contact Thor, there is no guarantee that he could return in time, for often he is, as you suspected and kept assuring me, a very far way away from us. Shall I send your things through to you or will you get them now, before you leave?"

"I will retrieve them and meet my team at the Chaappa'ai. It will not take me long," Teal'c answered her.

"Thanks, Teal'c. Don't forget Kendra's things, please." Sam nodded her agreement, even as O'Neill waved his own assent.

"I will remember them, Captain Carter. I will also pick up something identifiable from one of the dead Jaffa, if any remain. I do not know if Thor would have taken them or not. If he did not, then I will be sure to acquire us a "calling card" as the Tau'ri would say."

"Good idea, Teal'c. We'll see ya at the gate, then," O'Neill assured him even as he turned and began to run back from the way they had just come.

As Teal'c left them, they turned to smile at Gairwyn, and Sam and Daniel both hugged her, as they said their good-byes. Their walk to the Gate was very quiet; each of them was thinking their own thoughts, one of which was that the Tok'Ra knew the Asgard…and were obviously approved of by them. Even O'Neill had to admit that was a pretty darn high recommendation.

TBC


	6. Classified Information Ch 6 AAOF

_**Chapter Six Summary: **After returning from Cimmeria, SG-1 gathers to brief General Hammond on the mission. They've all had time to ruminate over Jolinar's obvious acquaintance with Thor. It's a shock to them. Sam now knows about their relationship; however, she also knows that this is a trial run, as to how they will handle classified material. Maybourne asks to see Jolinar and Sam the next day rather than the day after. _

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Six**_

_**Classified Information**_

* * *

Daniel dialed the gate and sent the code. They received the acceptance almost immediately, and SG-1 stepped into the fluctuating blue pool. Stepping out on the other side, General Hammond was waiting at the end of the ramp to greet his premier team, "Welcome back, SG-1. It's a nice change to have you back and all in one piece, with no obvious injuries."

Jack grinned. "Yeah, it's nice to come back with no one the worse for wear, for once."

The General nodded his agreement, saying, "Get your post mission checkups, and we'll debrief in an hour." Nodding once more, he turned and left, as they gave their weapons to the waiting airmen. Once they took care of that part of the post mission drill, they headed off down the hall. It didn't take long to reach the infirmary.

Janet smiled, as they walked in, immediately asking Sam, "Did Jolinar wake up, Sam? Do you know if the serum worked?"

"Yes, she's awake, but no, it didn't work. However, we did get a formula for it that's much more precise. We need to keep the other one to use, if we need to tranquilize a Goa'uld."

Janet's look of inquiry had Sam smiling. "Yeah, I know. If we got close enough to a Goa'uld to know that the serum didn't work, how did we manage to come back without injuries?" She shook head, "We didn't come into contact with the System Lord. It was given to us by, um, Thor."

Janet's eyes widened and rounded, as she breathed a reply, "Oh, my. You met the Asgard?"

"Not exactly. He did rescue us, even though he pronounced us _'still much too young'_ to…well, I'm not sure, but I suppose it would be, to formally meet, and ally with them. Anyway, it was pretty nice of him to do it, and not be angry, since we did screw up his anti-Goa'uld device and get a bunch of the Cimmerians killed because of it." Sam sighed, as she thought of that, and the fact that Gairwyn lost so many of her family, while trying to contact them.

Jolinar caressed her gently, saying, _"It happens, Samantha. It is not a pleasant fact; however, it is a fact, and not one about which we can do anything, except to determine that we will do better, and be more careful about what we do. You truly had no choice and Thor knows that. As was said, it was not as if you could call him to come and release Teal'c. Now, of course, the Cimmerians have a way to contact the Asgard, which will make them safer still. Moreover, there was nothing you could do to avoid what happened. You did not know about the hammer before going there, so no matter how much you attempted not to interfere, in this instance, it could not be avoided." _

Sam gave her a weak smile, as she replied,_ "Yes, I suppose you're right. The only way to avoid it was not to go, and we had no reason to believe we shouldn't. We'll definitely be watching for those types of devices, though, and not allow Teal'c or you, er, us, to travel there, if we see that one is there." _

Sam felt Jolinar hesitate, before she answered, _"No, that will not be necessary, Sam. The Asgard will enable all such devices to recognize Teal'c, and they already recognize us. And even if that was not true, while the Asgard are protectors, I do not believe they have a great many worlds that they protect in this particular manner." _

"_I see," _was all that Sam had time to say in answer, before Janet garnered her attention.

"You seem fine, Sam. I have a feeling that Jolinar would have taken care of any problems, before you ever reached the SGC, anyway."

Sam grinned at her, acknowledging, "As long as it wasn't beyond her abilities, yes, she would have. Nevertheless, there are often times when the injury to the host is too extensive and beyond their abilities to heal them. Mostly because they don't have the time to heal everything, before the host dies, though, not because they couldn't repair the injuries. There are very few injuries that they would be unable to repair, including, ah, believe it or not, a lost limb or even an eye." She looked at Janet for a moment before adding, "That includes spinal injuries, Janet. Some of those things would take a great deal of time, of course, but they can be accomplished given that the person survives the initial injury."

Janet looked shocked and amazed before becoming thoughtful and saying slowly, as she thought through her words, "I wonder how it would work if you used our medical procedures along with Jolinar's abilities. I mean, if we could keep them alive by replacing lost blood and perhaps working in conjunction, say doing surgery to close up some wounds enough to stop bleeding, while the symbiote worked on others. They could then complete the healing process at a slower pace. It's an intriguing thought anyway."

"Jolinar is actually rather excited by your idea, and she agrees with you." Sam frowned, before telling her slowly, "If I'm reading her memories correctly, they sometimes try to use their healing devices to help, while the symbiote works on repairing the host…assuming they can manage to get back to the base, before they die. That's when it usually happens. If they can't regain the base, or if the injuries are so massive that death is almost instantaneous, then there would be nothing you could do, since you wouldn't be there. I suppose we could show them, though, if they are interested. I have a feeling they may believe our procedures are primitive, at best, and archaic, at worst. However, if they see that it can work…assuming it can, they are open minded enough to begin to consider it."

Sam stopped talking to Janet, for a moment, and then returned explaining what Jolinar was thinking. "She's not so much excited by the idea of the surgery, although, she feels it could definitely work, though, perhaps, not quite as well as a healing device, as she is intrigued by the other things that we do. The introduction of fluids is the first thing in which she's interested. She feels that the introduction of fluids and blood could help to keep the host from going into shock. If all the symbiote had to do during an injury was heal the wound, it would be simple. However, before they can truly work on the wound, they have to stabilize the host. Shock is a real danger, as you're well aware. Then there's the bleeding. If that's extensive, then they simply can't manage to do everything quickly enough, so both host and symbiote dies."

"Jolinar says she needs to give it a bit more thought, and the two of you need to talk about some things, but she really believes that by taking on something as basic as stabilizing the patient's vital signs, and replacing lost blood, it would buy the symbiote the one thing that is against them during a serious injury…time. In fact, she thinks that something as basic as first aid might even help. If you add in someone with a healing device, then the odds would be even better. As I said, Janet, she really is very excited at the possibilities. She says that many times when a Tok'Ra dies it's from blood loss because the symbiote can't get it under control fast enough."

"Anyway, she sees possibilities here. Whether it is just giving blood and fluids, or someone also using a healing device, while someone else does surgery, she thinks the odds would go up considerably. Probably even on humans without symbiotes, the act of using a healing device during surgery would make the odds go up. She feels that, if the host can manage to return here, or to their base, then the chances of survival would go up considerably. She also suggests that she go over the symbiote's physiology, in case you ever have to work on a symbiote again. We were very lucky that you actually hit her heart a couple of times, and that she could use the substance you gave her. As we found when we studied Teal'c's symbiote, there aren't a lot of our substances that affect the symbiote. She does want to talk about all of it, but we don't have time, at the moment."

As Sam finished her information relaying, Janet nodded, but said, "I've never seen a healing device work, so I can't give an informed comment. After we talk about it, I may have more ideas."

Sam agreed, "Yes, she thinks so, too. She also says that the next injury that you have come in, if she's free, then she'll show you what they can do." Before Janet could remind her that they didn't have one, she continued, "We brought both a ribbon device and a healing device back with us, so you'll see it, if you call us in to help. From what I'm seeing in her memories, they're very handy little things to have. Unfortunately, you have to have naquadah in your blood to work one. And the only way to get that is to either have a symbiote, or have one die within you leaving that behind. And that, isn't a really good option, not just because the symbiote would have to die, but because they can't always manage to keep from killing the host, when they die within them like that."

Janet's eyebrows came together in a frown. "What do you mean? They kill the host when they die? I mean, if they're both injured, then it's unlikely the host would survive anyway. Right?"

Sam hesitated, as she listened to Jolinar's explanation. Turning back to Janet, she told her quietly, "Janet, if Jolinar had died within me, she would have tried to leave me alive, since my injuries weren't as severe as hers were." She paused before relaying the next important piece of information, "If she couldn't have prevented it, I would've died, not from my injuries, but from a toxin, a poison that they release at death. A Tok'Ra always attempts to not release it, unless the host wishes to die with them, which is not uncommon, but they can't always control it. She believes she would have been able to, since she was so near death but hadn't released any of it. Releasing it as they die is more or less an automatic thing, so _not_ releasing it takes a concerted effort on the symbiote's part. This poison also makes removing a Goa'uld symbiote a precarious operation. Sometimes a Goa'uld will release the toxin when they realize they can't stop the extraction, thereby killing the host out of spite." A sardonic look crossed Sam's face, as she continued, "A System Lord is actually much less likely to release it, though, as they are arrogant enough that they believe they will be able to retake their host or another host and escape their captor. That's good to know." She grinned wryly, "Now, why doesn't that bit of information about the System Lords surprise me?"

Janet had to laugh, even though it wasn't really funny; it was the look on Sam's face, as she said it that was funny. She shook her head, answering, "I don't think it _should_ surprise us, that's why." She stopped speaking, as she frowned in thought, before asking Sam, "What did you mean the couple of times I hit her heart?"

"The, uh, first two times you missed. That's why there was no change. After you had them move us, you were spot on, though, and those are the ones that helped her. As for how much you could have given her, she could've withstood more, as her body would simply have processed and neutralized it. That was another reason you had to use so much. She was too weak at first to be able to do more than keep her body from negating some of its effect. Once she started to gain in strength, she stopped that from happening, and you started to see more response to it. It's also the reason you didn't need to worry about it harming me. She would have taken care of it long before it caused me a problem."

Janet shook her head, replying, "There's a lot to learn about them, Sam. I hope we can get together and go over at least the basics, before I have to treat her again."

Sam nodded. "Me too, Janet, and Jolinar agrees with you. We'll try to do it before we leave on our next mission, promise."

"Good. Well, as I said, you're finished, Sam, but come with me, while I examine Teal'c. Like you, that takes mere seconds to accomplish, and I want to continue our conversation. It's not like these physicals are private with you all in here, anyway."

Sam nodded and hopped down off of the bed, following her to Teal'c. As Janet, in her own mind, although she would never admit it a loud, wasted her time looking over Teal'c, she asked, "Is there an antidote to the symbiote poison, Sam?"

Sam turned her attention to Jolinar, only to hear her already answering her, _"No, my Samantha, there is not. It has never been a priority, as there were always other things that took our attention away from that. I believe that there have been several attempts, over the years; however, we never managed to give it our full attention for long enough to perfect one. Something else always became more important." _

"_I see. That's too bad, as it could negate the problem of the toxin being released during the removal of a Goa'uld." _

"_I agree, however, being neither a council member nor a healer or scientist, I did not feel that I should be part of that decision,"_ Jolinar smiled slightly, but sensed Sam's curiosity, and so answered her questions, _"It is true that they wished me to take a council seat, Samantha, but I preferred being an operative. I suppose I could have done both; however, since I often took long missions and positions, it would leave them a member short, for most council decisions. I simply felt it best to decline the offer each time they made it, which was fairly often. Per'sus has attempted to convince me to join the High Council for over a thousand years." _

"_Now that we are blended, I may very well take that seat should he offer it again. They could contact us for meetings. From what I can tell, you never go undercover, and most of your missions are of a very short duration. There were some Tok'Ra joining the council and sub-council, who I believed would become a divisive presence. I would not like to see that happen. We have remained united for over two thousand years. I do not wish to see us split and take different paths." _She sighed, finishing,_ "Although that may become inevitable, now that we have met you. There will be some who oppose us going on the offensive. If we ally with you, that will be inevitable eventually. I can only hope we have a viable queen and young by then." _

Jolinar paused once more, before telling Sam, _"I have just now remembered this. That is good, as it means that, as I have suspected, the memories are there, they are simply buried, at this time. They will come, I am sure of it now. I appear to be remembering things more and more, as time passes. Perhaps, not a lot at one time, as this was, but still even remembering the simple one thought things is encouraging." _She paused, before sighing and giving her the bad news, _"Unfortunately, it also indicates that I have forgotten more about my life than I realized. There could be some important things missing, and we will not be aware of them, until we remember them. We must simply do the best that we can." _

"_At least I __appear__ to have the memories I need to function efficiently, as an operative, and I also believe that I have the information about the System Lords that is important. Losing some of that could be critical to the success of our next mission; however, I believe I have it all. Now that I have remembered who sent the Ashrak, I also remember the necessary intelligence about him…other than that pertaining to the Tok'Ra and the Council. The loss of that information is not good; however, remembering the other information pertaining to Cronus is good." _

Sam smiled at her, commenting, _"Yes, it's both encouraging and discouraging. I agree that the memories are there; it's just a matter of time. It also seems to me that things often come to you, when you're answering a question or explaining something. So, maybe it's simply taking something to nudge the memories to come to the surface." _Sam paused, before pointing out,_ "Jolinar, you may be suppressing the memories of the traitor because you don't wish to believe it could be true. When you're ready to admit and accept that they are a traitor and come to terms with it, I believe they'll come, too." _

"_Yes, I agree. I am not sure about the suppression part, however, I must admit that it makes more sense than any other reason I can think of, for why I cannot remember something so vitally important." _

"Sam, ask Jolinar, if there is any way that I could get a sample of this toxin. I'd like to see if I can come up with something. I doubt if I can, since her people have tried and been unable to do it, but I'd like to at least look at it myself."

Jolinar hesitated, and feeling that hesitance, Sam gave up control without being asked. Now, she was beginning to understand Jolinar's statement as to how, eventually, she wouldn't have to ask. Sam would simply 'know' when she would like to take control, and then it was up to her to decide yes or no. It was a comforting thought, and one more bit of proof that Jolinar was a very long way from being Goa'uld.

Seeing her eyes flare, Janet waited to hear what she had to say. When she said nothing, Janet looked over at her, with a question in her eyes. They had moved on to Daniel, now, and he was watching her, too. Was this request over the edge of what Jolinar wanted the Tau'ri to know? He hadn't thought about it before, but the two of them were going to be juggling all kinds of things they couldn't tell the others people.

Finally, Jolinar nodded her head, saying, quietly, "The easiest way would be to get it from a dead Goa'uld. Even though it would have been released, there would still be enough left within the organ to get a small sample. Since we do not have one, you could get one from me."

It was obvious that the second offer was what made her hesitate, in the first place, and Daniel spoke up, "But, there is a problem with that."

Jolinar sighed, before telling them quietly, "Yes and no. It is not that I do not wish to be the one to give it to you; it is that it could be difficult to obtain. Remember that I am wrapped around Samantha's spine," She pointed out quietly. Then feeling something more was needed, as she could tell that they still were not sure of the problem, she continued, "The organ you would need to access, is lying along her spine on the underneath side. It would be difficult to obtain simply because of its position. There are other organs around it, all clustered in that one area. The only way into it would be through her spine." She shrugged. "As I said, if you do wish for it right away, then I will do it, for I can repair any damage you do, as you go through her spine on your way to the organ. It is just that it is very much simpler on a symbiote that is not wrapped around someone's spine. That does make it much more difficult to access."

"Oh, I see," Janet, commented just as quietly.

They were each so busy contemplating the problem and, what they would need to do that none of them noticed Teal'c, as he joined them. "I would suggest that Jolinar assist you, Doctor Fraiser, as she knows exactly where the organ lies, and that you use my primta, instead of Jolinar and Captain Carter. It will be much easier to access. I believe that this would be a good thing, if one can be perfected. Just as happened with your comrade, it is always a risk that someone on a mission will come back with a symbiote. Since Jolinar knows how to extract them, it would be a good thing, if it were also possible to stop that last vindictive act by the Goa'uld in question."

Jolinar nodded, before turning to Teal'c and telling him, "I did not wish to suggest it, Teal'c, however, since you have offered, it '_would_' be a much simpler and quicker procedure, if we were to use it."

"Are you sure it won't hurt his primta? I mean, as far as killing it or anything? Because we have no way to replace junior quickly. Eventually, we'll have to get him one, but for now, well, it would be a problem to get him one as quickly as we would need one."

"I am sure, Dr. Fraiser. Furthermore, even if you did injure the primta, it would heal itself. However, since there is no spine, for it to be up against, it will be very easy to reach that organ. There will be no other organs in your way from that direction, which will allow it to be done very easily and swiftly."

"Then…if you're sure, Teal'c, then as soon as we're all free at the same time, I'd like to attempt it. Thank you for offering," Janet told him softly, "I'd rather not go through Sam's spine, even though Jolinar could repair it."

"I understand, Dr. Fraiser, and we will set up a time, as soon as possible, for you to do this."

"It truly will take very little time, Dr. Fraiser. The organ is very close to the surface, and easily accessible from that direction, I assure you."

Jolinar released to Sam, who smiled at Janet, stating firmly, "So, now we have a plan for that, I'm going to go shower and get ready for the briefing. See you guys there."

"Okay, Sam. They won't be much longer," Janet assured her. "See you later, too, Teal'c."

Teal'c bowed his head. "Indeed."

* * *

Realizing that Jolinar was troubled about something, but was shielding her thoughts from her, Sam was a little concerned. She knew by now that she wouldn't be able to keep it from her for long, without putting it in her 'private space', which Jolinar had explained, they both had. She'd taught her how to access it, and it was a nice feeling knowing that she had a place to go in her mind that was completely hers, just as Jolinar did. However, whatever was bothering her, she wasn't putting it there, so Sam assumed that she would soon allow her to know what it was. This seemed to be one of the things Jolinar did, as she mulled over something she wasn't sure she wanted to share. Then again, Sam had also realized that, if she mulled it over in this way, she invariably, at least so far, shared it with her.

Jolinar sighed, as she absorbed Samantha's thoughts. She was correct, and it was only a measure to be absolutely sure she wanted to share it. She now decided she would have to do so, for this was something they needed to work out…before the briefing. This decided, she turned outward from her thoughts and spoke quietly to Sam, _"My Samantha, there is something which we must discuss, even if our discussion makes us late for our briefing." _

Surprised at the seriousness and firmness of Jolinar's words and tone, she sat down at her desk. They'd stopped at their lab, on their way to the briefing, after their shower, to conceal and lock away the healing and ribbon devices. Still sensing her very serious demeanor, as well as her—not exactly anxiety, but some type of unease, Sam replied, calmly,_ "All right, Jolinar. Please simply tell me the problem, and we'll attempt to work it out." _

Jolinar nodded, responding promptly, _"Very well. We are about to go into a meeting where, at some point, your teammates are going to be asking questions about the Tok'Ra's relationship with the Asgard. There are some things about it, which we cannot tell them, Samantha. I am concerned as to how you will feel about this." _

Sam nodded. _"I've actually given this some thought already. I believe that you're aware that there are some classified things that we can't tell the Tok'Ra, as well? I know there probably aren't as many sensitive things about the SGC, as there is about the Tok'Ra, but I think that both of us will be treading a very fine line at times, don't you?" _

She could feel the relief rush through Jolinar, as she answered, _"Yes, Samantha, I do. Our, that is, the Tok'Ra's…relationship…with the Asgard is known to very, very few of us. By that, I mean that even within the Tok'Ra the knowledge is very, very limited. Those of us, who must be scanned, all know, of course. However, very few of Egeria's offspring are aware of it, and it must stay this way. We must impress upon General Hammond and our teammates that what they have learned is highly confidential and, if this information was to become known, it would have very dire and long reaching consequences, to a great many people." _

Sam frowned, but agreed, _"Well, all right, but—Jol, why is it such a secret? I can't really see a reason for it." _

"_There is a treaty between the Goa'uld and the Asgard that pertains to certain worlds. These worlds are protected under this treaty. They each give up something, when it is changed. If our—relationship—was discovered by the Goa'uld, they might use that information to try to negate the treaty, which would expose many worlds to Goa'uld attack. Our contact with the Asgard is quite rare and very secretive. The reason so few know of it, is because it is something that could be given away under torture. The Asgard are in a war, other than this one with the Goa'uld, at the moment, and they do not have the resources to protect all of their worlds should the Goa'uld unite against them, which is a very real possibility should this information come out." _

Jolinar paused once again, before telling her, _"They are also attempting to help us find a way to turn one of us into a queen. We have negative population growth. Every Tok'Ra death brings our people nearer to extinction, and our mission is not yet completed. The Goa'uld must be destroyed before we disappear completely. Should the Goa'uld discover what the Asgard are attempting to do for us, there would definitely be war on the protected planets. We cannot risk that happening. There is no doubt the Asgard would retaliate; however, that would not bring the peoples of those worlds back. It could also cause a great many innocent people on Goa'uld occupied worlds to perish, if the Asgard attacked any of them and, if a System Lord was hiding on one, then the Asgard would have no choice but to destroy it. I do not wish to be the one to cause such a thing to occur." _

Sam nodded her understanding of the situation. This was one of those things that few must know. She could see that she and Jolinar would be walking a tightrope, when it came to what they could tell their respective people. She sighed, before assuring her Lifemate, _"We'll impress it upon them, Jolinar, and we have no reason to tell them about them working on your population problem, if you'd rather not. We have no reason to mention it. Furthermore, don't worry about me feeling I have to tell them anything that you tell me is confidential, because I won't. I don't think that General Hammond will expect me to. Maybourne might, and no doubt, he thinks that he can order me to tell him, and I will simply refuse to do it. The same with your people. They might demand you tell them things, but they can't force us…can they?" _ Sam frowned, wondering if perhaps the Tok'Ra just might force information from them. It was a disquieting thought.

"_No. They cannot force us to tell them anything. We do not use torture on our own people. Unless they have turned Shol'va." _

"_Your people use torture? Like the Goa'uld do?" _ Sam was very much aghast at that thought.

Jolinar smiled at her, before answering, _"No, not like the Goa'uld do. Not to the extent they do, anyway. Believe it or not, most Goa'uld, while they are very good at using torture, sometimes buckle quite easily under it. Even the System Lords do not hold up, as well as one might think."_ Her voice grim, she continued, _"On them, Sam, we will become quite brutal, if we must. I am sorry if that shocks you, and I can tell that it does." _

"_I—I, ah, guess it does shock me. It shouldn't. You're fighting a ruthless enemy, as we are. We aren't allowed to use extreme tactics, though. How your people conduct your interrogations and treat your prisoners is none of our business, but…I don't think we should mention any of this. It…just wouldn't be a good idea." _

"_Yes, I can see that. I will not do so. Moreover, Sam, it is a rather rare occurrence for us…most of the time, their withdrawal from the sarcophagus's effects is enough to cause them to tell us much of what we wish to know. Only in very hard core cases, where there is vital information needed, do we resort to tactics that resemble, although are not as—vicious—as their tactics are. Does that help any?" _

"_Yes, I can see from your memories what you mean, and I can see that you are much less likely to use those things to get the information. That's why you asked about torture, though, isn't it? Or was it because the Goa'uld use it?" _

"_Both." _

Sam nodded her understanding and then looked at her watch. _"We're late. I'm surprised they haven't sent someone looking for us." _

Jolinar chuckled softly, _"Yes, my Sam, so am I. We should go." _

"_Yes, so we should." _Turning out the light, and locking the door, they left the lab and headed toward the briefing room. The SF coming down the hall saw them heading in the direction of the briefing room and rather than confront them, he simply followed, until he was sure that was where they were heading.

* * *

"I apologize for being late, General Hammond. Jolinar and I had some decisions to make, and some parameters and guidelines to set up, and they had to be made before this briefing."

He nodded and after a slight pause, he remarked, "I will assume it has to do with what you can and can't tell us, about some of the things that are confidential to the Tok'Ra, just as you can't tell the Tok'Ra certain things, which you will learn here that are confidential."

"Yes. We both realize that we'll be keeping secrets from both sides. It's an unusual situation to be in; however, I believe that we'll be able to do it."

He nodded his agreement. "Before I forget, Maybourne will be here tomorrow rather than the next day. It seems he had a conflict that wouldn't allow him to make it the next day. If you have no objections, I'll confirm that with him."

"_Any objections, Jol?"_

"_I cannot think of any, Samantha. Actually, I would like to be finished with it, and the sooner the better. We have a mission on which we need to be working. If he comes tomorrow, then that frees us up to help Teal'c the next day, which will be the second day the marines will be working with him. It will actually work out quite well." _

"We have no problem with it, General. In fact, it will work out better for us. We would both rather get it over with."

"Very well, as soon as the briefing is over, I'll contact them. Thank you. Now, let's go on with the briefing about the mission first, and then I think from what the Colonel and Daniel have told me, there're some things you'll be wishing to say about what occurred on Cimmeria."

Sam smiled, "Yes. There are."

"Very well. Colonel, would you like to explain what happened on the mission?"

"Yes, Sir. Well, we arrived and there were no Jaffa in sight, however, there were, as you know, several bodies both human and Jaffa. Gairwyn, I believe we mentioned her in our reports the first time we went there, since she's the one that welcomed us and showed Carter and Daniel around…anyway, the humans were…her husband and his brothers. They died getting the box through to us." Jack O'Neill stopped for a moment, and it was plain to see that, although he didn't show it, at the time, the fact that the woman lost her family, in their attempt to reach the SGC for help, had bothered him, quite a bit more than they had realized.

Then, taking a deep breath and pulling himself back from whatever bad place he had gone to, he continued, with his report, "There were also three pyramids being built; landing platforms for ships that were on their way. We found out that the Goa'uld was Heru'Ur, which was our third or fourth clue that we might have a very large problem on our hands. He has a wonderful pedigree, but I'm sure that Daniel will go into that, so I won't. So, as we talked to Gairwyn, some Jaffa came up and…" "…So, you can see, Sir, we really didn't have a lot of choices open to us."

"Can you explain what happened on your end, Dr. Jackson?"

"Yes, Sir. While Olaf, Jack, and Teal'c were scouting out the situation, we talked to Gairwyn, and she told us about the 'Hall of Thor's Might.' Since it sounded like it could hold a weapon or weapons, we decided to go look there and at least see what it was…" "…So, anyway, as Jack said, we surrendered rather than allowing them to kill the women and children. Then, as we were being, ah, 'escorted' to 'meet our new god', we heard what sounded like thunder, but the sky was blue, clear with no clouds at all. It did make the Jaffa a little jumpy, I'll say that. Needless to say, it wasn't thunder, although a large blackish cloud did form. What it was, however, was Thor's chariot arriving and making very quick work of dispatching the Goa'uld, their pyramids and their encampment. It was actually very impressive to see, General. I have no idea what kind of technology it was, but it was, well, amazing. Within minutes, everything was gone. The pyramids, the encampment, the Jaffa, just…everything. Once that happened, Gairwyn appeared with messages from Thor. One of them was to admit that they have visited Earth often in the past, which means that the Roswell Grays are not a myth or a hoax. They are very, very real and they are the Asgard."

"I see. Was there anything else to the message?"

"Um, yes, Sir, there was. He said we're still much too young to meet them, he promised the Cimmerians a teacher, and also to help them rebuild and get everything replaced, straightened up, and just generally help them out. He, um, did thank us for contacting him and helping the Cimmerians. He said they'd put up a new hammer, and that it would allow Teal'c through, as well as the Tok'Ra, just as this one did before. He also said that Jolinar should be sure to tell the Tok'Ra council that he is pleased and approves of their meeting and allying with us. Which I have to admit, was a pretty big shock, since we didn't know they even knew each other." As Daniel finished his report with that statement, they all looked toward Sam.

Sighing to herself, she began her report, "…and so that's pretty much what happened, Sir. That's how they managed to take us prisoner, that's how we found and figured out the Hall of Thor's Might, and those were the messages that Thor sent to us."

As they all looked at her expectantly, she looked down at the table, as she contemplated exactly what to tell them, and how to tell them. Before she could decide, the General broke into her thoughts, saying, "If that's all you can tell us, Captain Carter, Jolinar, then that's all you can tell us. I understand. I won't put you in that kind of position. I'll be talking to the President again, in a couple of hours, and I believe that once I discuss the situation with him, he will agree with me. We have to be able to trust one another, and knowing the meaning of classified is one way to show that trust. I trust that you and Jolinar wouldn't keep information from us, if we were in danger or something might affect us in a very negative way. The Tok'Ra will have to trust that you and Captain Carter will have the same guidelines, as far as I, and I am fairly sure the President, is concerned. If we have information about something that would harm the Tok'Ra or affect them in a negative way, she will tell them. That's really all we can do, and all we can reasonably expect from both of you."

Sam sensed Jolinar's relief and her wish to explain the situation in regards to the Asgard. She gave over control before Jolinar could ask. They were definitely getting this down quickly. Looking at her new teammates, and then at the General, she began with her reply to the General first, "I very much appreciate your attitude, General. I can assure you that the majority of the Tok'Ra council, though not all of them, will feel the same way. I imagine that you, also, will have some people that disagree with that attitude. They are, at this point, unimportant."

"As for the situation with the Asgard, it is not that I cannot tell you any more, it is that there are several things that I must impress upon you most stringently. The fact that the Asgard and the Tok'Ra are allied _must go no farther,_ General Hammond. _No farther at all._ It cannot leave this room." Seeing their frowns, she elaborated. "Very few know about our alliance, even among the Tok'Ra. The few of us that do know realize how _vital_ it is for _many _worlds that the Goa'uld _do not find out_. As in most situations, there is more than one reason why more people do not have this information, and why it is so highly classified."

She paused once more, as she thought about what she wished to say, then began, "The first reason is that, if so much as a breath of our alliance reached the ears of the Goa'uld, then any Tok'Ra captured would be tortured for more information about it. If our operatives do not know, then there is nothing they can divulge."

"The second reason is that the Asgard have many protected planets, under a treaty with the Goa'uld. Should the System Lords find out that the Asgard have helped the Tok'Ra, they would declare war upon those worlds and raze them into rubble. The Asgard would retaliate; however, the protected worlds would already be destroyed. Keeping this information to ourselves ensures that it is kept from the System Lords. As you can see, this information is highly classified, even within the ranks of our own people. I cannot stress enough that this can go no further…not even to your president, please. You may tell him that we are aware of and have met them, but that is all. That way, there is nothing more that he could tell anyone."

"The Goa'uld are aware that we have met them. They have been led to believe that the Asgard consider us to be Goa'uld…which is exactly what we want them to believe. The Asgard have made sure that the System Lords believe that they do not trust us, and believe us to be working against the System Lords, only so that we can take over their holdings and slaves. It worked, and we have kept to that story. We have met, neither side liked or was impressed by the other, and we parted, not exactly at war, but not cordially, either. Even our own people believe this of the Asgard and the Tok'Ra."

As Jolinar stopped speaking, the General, Daniel, and Teal'c appeared to understand. All of them assured her that no one would take the truth out of this room. Colonel O'Neill, however, was staring at her…and it was obvious he had a very unpleasant thought that he was chewing over. Finally, the general asked him, "Jack, what's on your mind?"

"How do we know that isn't what they're doing, Sir? Maybe they've fooled the Asgard into believing they're rebels, with no designs on taking over the power of the others, but in reality, they're actually only trying to overthrow the System Lords, so that they can take over and rule instead?"

Sam's head was bent, as she stared at the table. Jolinar was attempting to calm her anger at her commanding officer. Daniel, Teal'c, and the General were once more staring at him, this time in amazement and disbelief.

When he got over the shock of his second-in-command's statement, he told him, his voice laced with ice, "Colonel O'Neill that was uncalled for and totally out of place here. Do you honestly believe that Captain Carter has turned traitor? Because that is what you are accusing her of doing."

The Colonel blanched, as he repeated his words to himself. Then he remembered seeing the brain waves and knowing it was Sam talking to them. And today, Jolinar was asleep, so it had to have been Carter talking to him. He'd stuck his foot in his mouth…again. Looking over at her, he cleared his throat before saying, "The General's right, Carter. I have no idea why I said that. I know it's not true. I, um, ah, apologize."

Sam looked up and at him, before saying quietly, "Sir, if you can't come to terms with and accept that not all Goa'uld are the same, I _won't_ be able to work with you. You'll never trust me. You'll never feel comfortable around me or believe anything I tell you. You'll suspect constantly that it's really Jolinar and that she's suppressing me, controlling me somehow, or she's lying. If you can't overcome your prejudice, then we will have no choice, but to leave." Turning back to General Hammond, she spoke quietly, "I'm sorry, General Hammond. I—we—can't live and work with that kind of tension and distrust. We'd like to be excused, Sir."

His face stony, the General nodded his permission, and Sam left the room. She headed for her lab. Maybe there would be something there that could get her mind off of how she felt about what the Colonel had said to her and Jolinar. She was, quite frankly, shocked at his attitude. She truly believed that he realized the difference between the two groups. His words of distrust cut deep. Very, very deep.

TBC


	7. Attempted Interrogation Ch 7 AAOF

_**Chapter Seven Summary: **Sam and Jolinar have to decide what to do about Colonel O'Neill's attitude. Daniel, Teal'c, and the General have a talk with Jack. O'Neill knows that he has to talk to the two of them and try to reassure them that he understands better now. Colonel Maybourne arrives…and departs knowing no more than he knew before he arrived. Teal'c spends his time training 'Jaffa' and 'slaves/servants'. _

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

_**Author's Note: **Rippersgirl, Bloodfan, & Jadesstar, thank you the reviews. I appreciate them very much. Thanks, to everyone else who has reviewed as well. I know I sent each of you a pm, but I'd like to thank you again, just the same. Pagan  
_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**Attempted Interrogation**_

* * *

The four men sat in the briefing room in complete silence once Sam and Jolinar left the room. Jack rubbed his face with his hands. What the hell was wrong with him? He sighed. "I know I stuck both feet in my mouth. I'm sorry. I don't know what happened…it just popped out," Jack O'Neill put forward the only excuse he had. "I'll—I'll go talk to her, er, them."

"I don't think you should, Jack. Not yet anyway, because she's right. Until you can accept that she's not a Goa'uld, nothing will change. You'll second guess and question everything that comes out of her mouth. You'll watch her constantly to see if there's some way to catch Jolinar pretending she's Sam, some way you can prove it." Daniel shook his head. "I don't understand you. It's like you have blinders on. You can't seem to see any other options to your original beliefs."

"I offered to go talk to her, them, Daniel, what else can I do?"

"Well, maybe you need to examine your prejudices. I think I have as much reason or more to hate the Goa'uld, but I'm not treating her, as if she's some kind of—evil being ready to lunge into me and take over. If you can't tell the difference between Jolinar and a Goa'uld, then you have a real problem, Jack. A real big problem and…so do we." Daniel almost flung himself out of his chair and stalked over to look down upon the Stargate. It had brought them both wonders and horrors. He closed his eyes, but they popped back open, as he turned to look at his friend. His eyebrows pulled together into a frown. Was this about Kowalski? The soldiers he lost on the first mission? The female soldier that Apophis took? Skarra? Sha'uri? All of the above? He shook his head once more and turned back to the window. It didn't really matter what was causing it. What was important was finding a way that Jack could learn the difference between a Goa'uld and a Tok'Ra, and right now, he didn't have a clue how to set about doing it.

"Jack, I have to agree with Dr. Jackson. I think you have a real problem. You seem to accept her, and then you go off on one of these tangents. I want to help you, but I won't lose this link to an important alliance because you couldn't keep your feet out of your mouth, or overcome your prejudices. Where does this come from, Jack? What's causing you to be this way?"

"I've seen what the Goa'uld will do, General. They took Charlie Kowalski, they took Sha'uri, and they took Skarra. I will _never_ trust a Goa'uld." Jack sighed. "General, she admitted to being a Goa'uld. Carter sat right there and told us she wasn't born Tok'Ra. How can we trust a self-professed Goa'uld? Can you really trust her? How do you do it? How can any of you remember the people the Goa'uld have taken from us and trust the snake?"

Jack avoided everyone's eyes, but he couldn't stop from looking up when Teal'c began to talk. "I have lost friends to the bullets of the Tau'ri. Yet, I have no problem accepting the Tau'ri. Now, knowing that the Tok'Ra are more than legend, I believe that it is quite likely that I have lost many friends to the Tok'Ra. Yet, I have no difficulty in accepting Jolinar of Malk'shur. I know for a _fact_ that I have lost many friends to the Goa'uld. I can accept that you have had no choice but to kill them, that the Tok'Ra have had no choice but to kill them. The Goa'uld have caused many unnecessary Jaffa deaths, and they have committed many unnecessary Jaffa deaths for no particular reason. I cannot accept them. You appear to be having difficulty separating the two, Goa'uld and Tok'Ra, but you still have not given me a reason for that."

"How do we know they are different, Teal'c? How can we trust a Goa'uld?"

"Damn it, Jack, because _mentally_ she's _NOT _Goa'uld. Get that through your head, would you?" Daniel's outburst caused him to turn his back to the room once again. He should just shut up.

Teal'c gazed at Jack so steadily that he began to fidget, before the man finally spoke, "They are physiologically Goa'uld; that is a true statement. However, having been around _true_ Goa'uld _all of my life_, I can assure you that Jolinar is _not _Goa'uld in any way that counts." He paused, as he tried to marshal what he wanted to say. Seeming to come to a conclusion, he gave his full attention back to O'Neill. "You are a white human male. Are you the same as the serial killer? The rapist? The thief? The wife beater? The alcoholic? You say you will never trust a Goa'uld, hence by extension, because the Tok'Ra are physically Goa'uld, you will never trust a Tok'Ra. So in effect, you are telling me that because you are a white human male you are a serial killer, a rapist, a thief, in fact, all of those things, since all members of a group must be alike. There can be no good and bad, there is only bad."

He shook his head. "How do you live with yourself, since you are all of those things?"

"Oh, come on, Teal'c. That's not fair. There a lot more good people than there are those other things. That doesn't make sense."

"No, it doesn't, Jack, you're right. You are no more those things than anyone in this room is. So, how can you be so _arrogant_ as to say that, because you are human, it makes you different or better? How can you not see what Teal'c is showing you? How can you sit in judgment of a society you know nothing about and decide that because they are related to the drug addicts down the street, they must automatically be drug addicts, too? I…I just can't believe you are so unbelievably blind when it comes to Jolinar and Sam."

Frustration was clearly evident in O'Neill's voice as he answered him, "I don't know either, Daniel. It's like I start to believe them, and then something happens like her talking about the rumors about them, and suddenly, I find myself thinking, well, that could be right. Maybe it isn't just a rumor, maybe they really are trying to take over and rule. I don't know why! It just pops up; I start to think about the Goa'uld. They're nothing but a bunch of snakes. How can you trust someone that is genetically like Apophis or Ra or Cronus?"

Suddenly, Daniel looked at him and asked, "You know, you've never told me, do you have a brother or sister?"

Jack frowned. "Yeah. Why?"

"Are they in jail?"

Now he was scowling, "He, and no."

"Tell me something, if your brother was in jail for murder, would that make you a murderer? Would his being one, automatically mean that you were a murderer because you are genetically really closely related? Well? Would it?"

"No, of course not. Everyone makes their own choices. We can decide to not do something. What does that have to do with anything?"

Daniel, Teal'c, and the General all simply looked at him, waiting…hoping the light bulb would finally truly come on. "I don't get it. Obviously, there is something there you want me to extrapolate out to the Goa'uld and the Tok'Ra."

Daniel shrugged. "You are the one that said we couldn't trust the Tok'Ra because they were genetically like the Goa'uld, Jack, not me."

Jack scowled, as he looked at each of them in turn. Suddenly, just by the looks on their faces he realized that this was important. Really important. Okay, so what did he say? The Goa'uld and Tok'Ra are the same because they are genetically related. Okay…then Daniel asked about his brother. Hell, the two of them were as different as…night and day, as different as…the Tok'Ra and the Goa'uld. He threw his head back and gazed at the ceiling feeling like a very stupid fool. "Okay. I get it."

"Yes! Finally!" Daniel threw his hands into the air, in a gesture of relief.

Jack's lips twisted wryly, "You've all said the same thing in a dozen different ways. Why didn't I get it? Regardless of how I've been acing, I'm not stupid." He paused for only a moment before adding, "Then again, maybe I am."

"No, O'Neill you are not. I believe that you did not want to have to admit that they are indeed different and, therefore, deserve to be accepted or not on a one on one basis. I believe that perhaps your hatred of the Goa'uld would not allow you to see the truth of the Tok'Ra. It was simply easier for you to hate them all," Teal'c gave his opinion in a measured tone of voice.

Jack nodded his head. "Yeah. Maybe you're right, Teal'c. I just hope I don't forget and slip back."

"Well, Jack, if I might make a suggestion…since it was Daniel's comparison of you and your brother, that seemed to finally turn on the light bulb, next time you start to slip, think of your brother." General Hammond paused for a moment before adding quietly, but it was still understood to be an order, "I believe that you should drop the word snake from your vocabulary, when you speak about them. Even if you are talking only of the Goa'uld, it may insult the Tok'Ra, as well. I don't imagine you would like for the people around you to discuss all men with bad knees as cripples when they clearly aren't. I'd also stop thinking of them as Goa'uld and use the word Tok'Ra instead. Sometimes just the act of changing the words you use can change the way you think of something. It can make a tremendous difference."

Jack nodded, and then sat very quietly staring at the wall, before telling them, "I have to go talk to them, but I don't know what to say. I have no idea how to explain my idiocy."

"Just tell them the truth, Jack. You couldn't see the Tok'Ra because your hatred of the Goa'uld wouldn't let you. It took you a while to realize what the problem was, but that you think you can work through it, if they'll just be patient. Sam doesn't want to leave the SGC, Jack. Give her an excuse to stay."

He nodded. "Yeah. I'll try that, and I'd better go now, while I still have the nerve to do it."

"Good luck, O'Neill."

"Thanks, Teal'c; I think I'm gonna need it."

* * *

"_Samantha, please do not grieve so. We can still give him time to come to terms with the Tok'Ra. We have nowhere to go at this time, anyway, so we might as well see if we cannot help him to understand." _

Sam shook her head. _"No, Jol. I don't think we can. We've done everything we could to make him understand the difference. I know we don't have anywhere to go right now, until you get your memories back, but I'm going to ask General Hammond to take us off SG-1. We'll stay here, work in my lab and run my department. Then when your memories return, we'll go to the Tok'Ra. I won't give up on the idea of an alliance, but I don't think I can stay here knowing how he really feels about us." _

Jolinar sighed to herself and then she frowned. Perhaps Samantha was right. If it did turn out that Colonel O'Neill couldn't come to terms with the idea of a symbiote, then they would have to go to the tunnels as soon as she remembered. Of course, that was the plan all along, so that had not changed. However, instead of returning here to the SGC, they would no doubt stay in the tunnels. Then there was no longer any doubt that she would take that council seat, after all. It felt…right. It was time for her to stop taking these long and dangerous missions. It was time that she accepted that she had proven to the Tok'Ra, and to herself, that she was Tok'Ra. If she had not reverted in over two thousand years, she would not revert now. Samantha was correct about that. She didn't want to give up missions completely, but perhaps it was time to put other things first for a time. Take more of a leadership role. After all, she had been a very close friend of Egeria's and her friend would expect more from her. She would expect her to help lead her children. Yes, perhaps it was time. She frowned. There was something else, but she did not know what it was. She felt…sad at the idea of leaving…something…again. What she wasn't sure.

Well, at the moment she could not allow the loss of her memories to affect her too much. The important thing was remembering who the traitor was. That was the most important thing for her to remember. She felt confident that the traitor was on the council. Unfortunately, there were several that she would not put it past to defect, to turn Shol'va.

Turning her thoughts back to Sam, she realized that she was quietly crying. Not a lot, but a tear now and again. She had a great deal of respect for O'Neill, and that was making this very difficult for her. After having the complete trust of someone, and then having it suddenly taken away, through no fault of your own, was a deep blow in and of itself. She wished there was some way to get through to O'Neill; however, she had no idea how it could be accomplished. Perhaps Dr. Jackson or Teal'c would help them. They, at least, appeared to accept them completely.

Once more she hugged her Sam, telling her, _"There is a chance that he will eventually realize that we can be trusted. It may take some time, but he will someday come around. We shall simply have to do our best not to antagonize him more. I am not good at that I am afraid, for I am very outspoken, so you must help to curb my tongue." _

"_Now, come, Mer Prinekh, we have time to ourselves. Let us sit quietly and go over some of these pieces of technology. Who knows? Perhaps we will find something wonderful." _

Sam smiled at her, giving her a quick hug, before realizing that she didn't have the translation for the words Jolinar used on her a moment ago. Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, as the old saying went. _ "Jol? What does Mer Prinekh mean?" _

Jolinar hesitated for a moment before she started to speak, _"It means Lifemate…My Lifemate. It—is a term of endearment between symbiote and host." _

"_Really? I think it's very pretty. Thank you. I take it that it isn't something that is used except for moments of deep feeling?" _

"_Yes. That is more or less how it is used, or when you wish especially to convey your love to them. I suppose it would be on the equivalent of your word beloved, which, by the way, I find a particularly beautiful word." _

Sam smiled at her, agreeing,_ "Yes, and you rarely hear it used anymore. I think it was deemed 'too' much or something. We do use dear, dearest, honey, my love, sweetheart. Occasionally you will hear darling, but it, too, is not used much anymore." _

Jolinar smiled at her, saying,_ "We will use it on our mates." _

Sam sat very still, barely breathing, _"We, um, we have…mates? As—in a husband? What—what are they like? What are their names?" _

Sam felt Jolinar freeze and then almost panic. _"Hey, it's okay. Stop, Jolinar, calm down. You'll remember it later. I'm sure it will come back." _

Jolinar drew in a shaky breath, which Sam always found funny since they did not breathe as such. Still it was an image they sent, to emphasize their feelings, _"I will be all right now, my Sam. It is just a shock to realize that, although, I know that I…we now, have mates, I do not remember anything about them. I have some vague impressions, when I think of my mates, but nothing specific. I do not remember their names or what they look like." _Feeling Sam's continued anxiety for her, she smiled at her, a small smile, but still a smile, before assuring her, _"I will be fine now, I promise you. I should not be surprised, actually, as all of my missing memories so far have pertained to the base and the people there. I can remember a few…Garshaw, Yosuf, Selmak, Saroosh, Per'sus, Aiydon, Malek, Devlin, Anise, and Freya. _ _I am very sure that they are not involved in whatever is going on there." _This then was the vague feeling she had earlier. This—they—were the sadness she felt at the idea of leaving on a long mission again. She might not know anything else about them, but she knew that they had been patience itself about her long and dangerous missions. They hated it when she left…hated her being gone for months to years at a time, often unable to contact them. They had lived with uncertainty long enough. Yes, this was the real reason behind her sudden decision to take the council seat and fewer, shorter missions. She hoped she would remember more about them soon.

Jolinar shared the vague impressions she was getting as she thought of her, now their, _'mates_'. Sam felt more than saw, a medium tall man, but that was all, just the outline of his body. As she immersed herself in it along with Jolinar, she got the impression of a very sweet and gentle man, who had hidden depths, if one knew exactly where to look for them. His symbiote was much more passionate, she frowned, as a very small snippet was added to her impressions of him…his passion wasn't confined to his cause. Okay, time to turn her mind back to work.

Reaching out, Sam picked up something that looked very much like a hand device; however, it was somewhat more delicate. She slipped it on, and it immediately started to power up. Gasping, she pulled it from her hand before she blew something up. _"Wow. That was, um, quick to react. You were doing that right?" _

Jolinar shook her head, answering, _"No, I did not, my Samantha. I suspect that along with your already awakening abilities, which you now have from me, you have some different elements within your body to which this is responding. At any rate, there is nothing we can do about it now, except to be sure that you either do not put it on or, if you do, you don't point it at yourself or someone else." _She frowned as she continued to look at it where it now lay on the table.

"_What are you thinking, Jolinar? You appear a little confused by it,"_ Sam probed gently.

After a few minutes of contemplation, during which Sam didn't try to divert her attention, she finally, answered her,_ "I may be very wrong, Samantha, however the more thought I have given to it, the more I believe that I am correct. It is definitely not of Goa'uld design. It looks almost like some form of adornment, although it is now obvious it is not. Of course, that was already determined, or it would have been with Dr. Jackson instead of here. The Ancients left a very long time ago, and while they were warriors, at one time many millennia ago, they tended to be pacifists, as time went on, rarely fighting anyone toward the end of their time here. Therefore, I do not believe that it is of Ancient design." _

Still pondering and considering her words carefully, she continued, _"I have definitely seen something similar before, however, it was on a world that we felt was Furling. It was ignored, as we were in a hurry, and at first glance, as I said, it appears to be some sort of adornment. It was perhaps both. I am trying to remember what we know about them, but it is very little. The Asgard might be able to tell us more. The Furling, as the Ancients and the Asgard, either have moved beyond our plane of existence, or have moved to another galaxy. I also believe it to be Furling because Ancient technology will not respond to us in any way…that is, unless a host, well, or a symbiote, which a few do, has the Ancient gene, and those people, and symbiotes, are very few and far between. Furling technology, however, what little we have come across, does respond to humans and Tok'Ra. But it will not work on Goa'uld. It is almost as if it senses the wearer's intent and perhaps looks into their heart and soul, which is, as you might phrase it, a little spooky." _

Sam almost laughed at Jolinar's last few words, but she didn't, and instead turned her attention more fully to the hand device. _"Do you think we can learn to use it, Jol? It doesn't look Goa'uld, but I'm not sure anyone would notice that without looking at it more closely. Something in your hand that is glowing is usually enough for the Jaffa to get the picture." _

Jolinar nodded, assuring her, _"I have no reason to believe that we could not. I have a feeling that it is more powerful than my hand device." She frowned again, urging Sam to pick it up and simply hold it. "I can feel a signature very like that of the healing device, as well as the other signature, Sam. I cannot be sure until we test it out, of course, but I believe that it could be used as both a hand device and a healing device. We must definitely work with it to see what we can accomplish with it." _

Sam nodded, and agreed, _"Yes, I think we should look into it. If it can be used as a healing device, and you don't need anything in particular to use it, we might find we can use it here. If there isn't something in me that is making it work, that is. We'll just have to try it out and see." _

A knock on the door startled them, and turning toward it, Sam straightened, inquiring, "Is there something we can do for you, Colonel O'Neill?"

"No. No, I came down to talk to you and Jolinar." He entered the room and began to pace, picking up and then returning things, after he examined them. Sam sat quietly waiting for him to decide what he needed to tell her, no, them.

Finally deciding that she wasn't going to say anything else to him, he sat down on a stool next to her. He grimaced, as he looked her, "You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

Sam frowned. "I don't know what you want from me, Colonel. What do you want me to say? It's okay that you don't trust us? It's okay that you constantly watch us to see who's talking to you and are skeptical of what we say? I can't do that, because it wouldn't be true, and I meant what I said. I can't continue under those conditions."

Jack nodded and ran his hand through his hair, before leaning forward with his forearms resting on his thighs. "Yeah, Carter. I know. I don't blame you. I'd be pissed off, too, if I was you. I—we—." He stopped and then tried again, "Teal'c, Daniel, and the General—talked to me. We think—we might have—maybe…well, we, um, we believe that we found the source of this—problem. I'm having trouble separating the two, Carter. I've hated the Goa'uld so much, for so long, that I couldn't see past that. They took Kowalski, Sha'uri, Skarra, and that's just a start of what they've done."

He sighed before tackling the rest of what he needed to say, "It's—hard—for me to see the difference. Actually, even with the three of them talking to me, I couldn't see the difference. Then Daniel, well, he took something I said and put it into a context where I couldn't push the logic away. They'd all said the same thing over and over in different ways, but it just didn't penetrate. I didn't get it. I—I don't think I 'wanted' to get it." He straightened slightly, as he continued talking to them, "I think I do now. I may still have a problem now and then, but…I don't think it will last, and I might be able to keep my feet out of my mouth. And I won't believe it, after I say it, if I do stick them in there. But, you may have to help me, ignore me, whatever we have to do, until it stops happening. I—can't promise I'll never say something stupid again, but I can promise that I'll _know _that it's stupid."

He watched as Jolinar came forward and managed not to flinch this time. He could see amusement in her eyes. "I see. In that case, perhaps we could begin again. Samantha is…still a little upset. I am not sure she trusts you now, Colonel. It may also take some time…and actions…for her to do so again. We will attempt to help you and not take offense." She paused, and then told him, "However, you should prepare yourself for meeting my people. It is quite likely that they will be arrogant and very, ah, off-putting. I daresay you will not like them, as a whole; however, once you become acquainted with them on a one on one level, I believe you may feel differently. I would suggest you refrain from calling them snakes, though, as they would not take kindly to the comparison. It is to be hoped that you will become more comfortable with me by then and thus not feel as, ah, averse, to them."

Jack cleared his throat, before telling her, "Um, yeah, I'm thinking not calling them, or perhaps even the Goa'uld snakes, might be better. I believe that I'll change that and the thoughts that go with it."

Jolinar laughed lightly, "My people call the Goa'uld things that are less flattering than snakes. I do not believe calling them that will upset anyone. If it does, then you can cease, but I would strongly doubt that it will."

"Good. I still think I'm going to try to come up with something else, though. Just in case."

"Very well, Colonel. We will begin again from this point, if you desire to do so."

Jack nodded and held out his hand. She put hers into his, "Yeah, I do want to. I—thanks."

"You are welcome, Colonel."

He finally smiled a genuine crooked little grin actually, before saying, "I'll see you later, then, and if not again today, then tomorrow before Maybourne arrives. And don't worry about that, either. One of us will be there with you. Orders from the top; you aren't to be left alone with him." He cleared his throat before telling her, "It'll probably be me, since Teal'c will be busy with Jaffa and slaves/servants and Daniel will be learning how to be a lo'tar."

"Very well. We will see you tomorrow, then, if we do not see you later today."

Jack nodded and waved as he went through the door. Jolinar turned to Sam, telling her, "It will be all right, Sam. He will come to terms with us, and perhaps, in time, with my people."

Taking control and reaching for the piece of technology they were working with earlier, Sam sighed, "I certainly hope so. I really do."

* * *

"Hey, Sam! Have you had breakfast yet?" Sam turned, as Daniel came loping up to walk beside her.

"Heading there now, Daniel. How about you?"

"I had some coffee. I could use something, so if you and Jolinar don't mind, I think I'll go with you."

"Sure, Daniel, we'd love to have breakfast with you."

"Thanks. Teal'c should be there by now, too."

They stepped into the elevator and Daniel pushed the twenty-two. They stepped off on that level and walked the distance to the cafeteria in silence. Entering, Daniel looked around. Seeing Teal'c, he turned to Sam, saying, "Um, Sam, there's Teal'c, but, well, Jack's with him. Is that gonna be okay?"

"Sure, Daniel, if you want. He and Jolinar talked a little yesterday afternoon, and I think we all came to an agreement."

Daniel let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. "That's good, Sam. I'm, um, really glad. I wouldn't want to lose you just because Jack can't keep his feet out of his mouth."

"Well, Daniel I think it was a little more than that, but I also think that you, Teal'c, and the General helped him to work through it, at least…we'll hope so, anyway. He was honest, and admitted that he didn't know if he'd stick his feet in again or not, but that, at least he'd know he was wrong when he did it."

Seeing her eyes smiling at him, he felt even more relief. Maybe next time Jack acted like a jerk, they would tell him to stuff it. He kind of thought that they might. So far, all they had seen of Jolinar, since she and Sam woke up, was a very reasonable and likeable being. He had a feeling that she wasn't always that way though. He wondered idly if they would see a different Jolinar interact with Maybourne. He felt pretty sure that they would. He'd have to get the tapes of their session, just to see her, and how she responded to him. As they approached the table, he suddenly realized he hadn't even spoken to Jolinar. Turning swiftly to Sam, he told her, "Tell Jolinar I said good morning, Sam." He smiled ruefully. "It's hard to remember that there are two of you in there now. We don't mean to ignore her; we just aren't used to it yet."

Jolinar came forward, telling him, "That is all right, Dr. Jackson. It is often that we speak to either one or the other, but we are aware that we are speaking to both and so are they. Do not allow it to concern you. After all, both of us hear and see everything the other does, so we tend to take it as a given."

"Thanks, and, um, it's Daniel."

They sat down and Teal'c looked over at her. "We have been discussing the Jaffa and slaves that you will need. We can get a minimum of ten complete Jaffa uniforms. Slave outfits could be more problematic. I could go to Teataska and obtain suitable clothing for them, if you believe it would be best."

Jolinar nodded, adding, "Yes, I believe that it would be best. My personal Lo'tar should be more sumptuously dressed. I believe that is the position I wish Daniel to take. Samantha says that she was serious about the acting experience. If there are any of your soldiers that have been in amateur or professional theatrics, they would take less training especially when it comes to the slaves, ah, servants." She paused, her brow furrowed, before she quietly told them, "I truly dislike referring to them as slaves and I believe I will use the word servants, as we discussed. It has more dignity to it than slave."

Teal'c bowed his head, accepting her unspoken order, "As you wish…My Lord."

Jack, Daniel, Jolinar, and Sam looked as if they were stunned by Teal'c's words. First Daniel and then Jolinar, Sam, and Jack started to grin. Finally chuckling they shook their heads at him. Teal'c never ceased to surprise them. When he exercised it, his sense of humor was sharp, and his delivery was so deadpan that it always took them a while to realize he was teasing or joking with them. They all appreciated it, though.

They turned back to their food and their thoughts followed. Jack looked up from his breakfast. Although a little startled by the idea of using soldiers with acting ability, he nodded after giving it a little thought. "I'll check with the General, after breakfast, since we need to start their training as soon as we can. Of course, you know that could mean administration personnel. They won't have off world experience, but they're soldiers, just the same." He grinned before commenting, "I have a feeling some of the admin people might even pretend they have some experience just to get to go off world. We'll check carefully, though. There's too much at stake not to."

After a little more thought, he continued, "I'll try to stick to the SG teams for the Jaffa, though, if we can. If there are some with acting experience, then so much the better. I'll call a meeting of the teams after I talk to the General. We only have two days. And Maybourne will be here in a couple of hours. We couldn't get him to come any sooner. That will give us some time to start gathering our Jaffa and, um, servants though, so I guess that's okay.

"I believe that will work very well, Colonel." Jolinar turned to Teal'c asking, "Do you still believe that will be sufficient time? Have you thought of anything else? I am glad you thought of the clothes. I am so used to having Goa'uld and servant clothing to choose from that it did not occur to me that you would not have any."

"I believe that we will have sufficient time. While O'Neill is with the General, I will go to Teataska and acquire the clothing we need."

"Very well, Teal'c. I will leave that up to you. Remember to dress at least three of them somewhat better than the general servants and Daniel must be very well dressed, as well." She paused, and then looking back up at Teal'c, she continued, "Samantha reminds me that we have no clothing suitable for even a minor System Lord underling, and I wish to be of a higher rank than that. Can you procure something that would be suitable for that as well, Teal'c, or do my Sam and I need to accompany you?"

Teal'c looked at her for a moment, before giving an opinion, "I believe something with clean lines, very elegant, rather gaudy jewels perhaps, and cut severely enough to make a statement of strength?"

"Exactly, Teal'c. I believe I may leave that in your hands." She stopped speaking for a moment as she listened to Sam and then continued, "Samantha suggests that if there is anyone with theatrical make-up experience we could use them, as well. We will need to hide your emblem as well as see to it that our other Jaffa are marked accordingly. Someone with experience in that might be helpful. While I can probably do most of it, it would take less time with two of us working on it."

Teal'c nodded his agreement, stating, "I will take Daniel Jackson and perhaps Lieutenant Donovan with me."

"Sam agrees with you, Teal'c."

Jack stood, picking up his tray. "Okay, kids, I'm heading for the General's office, and then, I'll leave a list for you, Teal'c. Jolinar, I'll stop by your lab and get you when Maybourne arrives. Be sure to be as arrogant as you can possibly be. I'm serious about that. He'll try to intimidate you, if you don't."

"I will do my very best imitation of a System Lord, Colonel, as I have had experience doing so. Both in reality and in playing a role. We will see you then."

Jack nodded and waved as he left the table. Teal'c looked at Daniel and Jolinar, who switched to Sam, as he watched. He smiled at her, saying, "I believe you did that deliberately, did you not?"

Sam grinned. "Yeah, we talked it over and decided that he needs to interact more with Jolinar. That's the only way he'll get used to her." She shrugged as she finished her breakfast. "We figured now was as good a time as any."

"Indeed." Turning to Daniel, he asked him, "Are you prepared to leave yet, Daniel Jackson? We should go as soon as possible. We will buy things that do not need to fit exactly. Still, we may have to return for some things. I wish to get the majority of it now, however."

Daniel nodded. "Yes, I'm finished."

"Very well, then let us proceed."

Disposing of their trays, they headed out to their next tasks.

* * *

Sam looked up as someone knocked on her lab door, and realized it was Colonel O'Neill.

Grimacing, he told her, "He's here. Him and a person to record the conversation and a couple of other guys, probably lackeys. It'll be taped, too."

Sam sighed and put down the piece of technology that she and Jolinar were studying. Jolinar found herself becoming very interested in much of this, as it was technology that was not Goa'uld in origin, and therefore she had never studied or even seen most of it. Their scientists might have, but usually all she saw was a finished product that had already been adapted for their use.

"Okay. We have to wash our hands and then we'll be ready."

O'Neill nodded and they stopped at the restroom on the way. She could have used the small sink in her lab, but wanted to use the rest of the facilities, since they could be incarcerated for the next six hours.

Entering the interrogation area, Sam nodded to the others before turning to face Maybourne.

He addressed her at once, "Captain Carter."

Pretending to misunderstand his greeting as a question, she asked, "Yes?"

He frowned and then stood even straighter, attempting to look more intimidating. Jolinar was almost giggling in her head. _"Hush, you are going to make me laugh at him, Jol. Now stop." _

"_Oh, all right, my Sam. But he really is a pompous little man." _

Sam's lips twitched, and she looked down at the table where she had taken a seat.

"Do you find this amusing, Captain?" Maybourne frowned harder, if possible.

"Ah, no, not really."

"No, not really, what, Captain? For the time being you are still a member of the U.S. Air force, and I expect you to continue with protocol."

"No, not really, I actually expect to find it rather boring?"

"_What is that all about, Sam? What protocol does he mean? _

"_I should be calling him Colonel Maybourne or Sir." _

"_You will not. I thought that is what it was, which is why I, ah, encouraged you not to add them." _

"_Is that what you call it?" _

"_Yes. I did not stop you from saying it, I simply sent my reaction to doing so, which was revulsion. You picked up on it, and so you did not say it." _

"_I see. Well, in this case, I don't object, but I think that is something that you should avoid in future." _

Jolinar sighed. _ "Oh, very well, Samantha, I will not influence you in that way again. Although, he does not deserve your respect. He has not earned it; just the opposite, in fact." _

"Captain Carter, I expect an answer, and I expect it to be given with the proper respect."

Sensing Colonel O'Neill's intent to step in, she placed a hand on his arm, saying, "That's not necessary, Colonel. We'll take care of it."

Turning to look at Maybourne, Jolinar sent her eyes into a very strong somewhat prolonged flare. Maybourne took a step back. "I have no reason to call you by either of those titles, Maybourne. Respect such as that must be earned, and you have not yet done anything which would induce respect in me."

"I was talking to Captain Carter."

Jolinar shrugged. "We are now one. When you talk to her, you talk to me, and when you talk to me, you talk to her."

Maybourne's lips firmed. "Perhaps you aren't aware of our military protocol, but the Captain certainly is. I can have her written up, if I wish to do so."

Jolinar raised her eyebrows. "No. You cannot. If you wish to go by protocol, which I was not going to insist on, then you need to bow to us."

Maybourne's mouth dropped open slightly, before he recovered himself. "I see no reason why I should do so. You are not in our military, and I would not do that to a mere Captain, even if we did bow instead of salute."

She paused as if listening. Then looking back at him she responded, "My Sam has now informed me as to what that means. In that case, you have been remiss. I am awaiting your salute, Maybourne."

"It is Colonel Maybourne to you, and I do not salute a Captain first. You must salute me."

Jolinar leaned back in her chair. "What a pompous little man you are. I believe I commented on that earlier to Samantha. Now, just so you know. Was I in your military, I would outrank you, by a great deal. According to what Sam has now shown me of your military hierarchy, I would probably be considered a Chief of Staff. Furthermore, if you wish to spend your, now less than six hours, arguing over who calls whom what, and who should salute, or bow, to whom first, then we can certainly do so. _ I_ will not object."

Maybourne looked almost dumbfounded. O'Neill was having difficulty not laughing aloud. Clearing his throat, he stepped in, saying, "Maybourne, since I didn't have a chance earlier, I think I should now introduce you." He turned to Sam and Jolinar first, saying, "Jolinar, this is Colonel Maybourne. Colonel, this is Jolinar of Malk'shur." Playing along with her, he continued, "Jolinar is a very high-placed Tok'Ra, who has decided to join SG-1 and give us her expertise on the Goa'uld and the Universe in general."

Jolinar bowed her head, very slightly, indicating that he was beneath her, saying, "How do you do, Maybourne? I am not yet sure if it is a pleasure, so I will not yet tell you that."

Maybourne was obviously unhappy, but decided to simply go on and leave the pleasantries and the protocol behind. She was right and he was wasting time. He was still pissed about that. He should have access to her, until they could get her to crack and tell them everything, including the fact that she was actually Goa'uld, and there was no such thing as a…whatever it was that she claimed to be. His arguments had fallen on deaf ears; however, Senator Kinsey was working on it. For now, though, he would do what he could in the time he had.

"Very well, can we proceed now?"

"Of course. I am ready to answer your questions, whenever you decide to ask them," Jolinar laced her answer with amusement, thus irking him even more, and entertaining O'Neill.

Maybourne stood fuming for a moment before abruptly asking her, "How can we be sure you are not a Goa'uld?"

Deciding to throw him a curve she looked at him and her eyes widened, "I do not believe that you can. Physiologically, I am Goa'uld." Then throwing him a bone, she continued, "However, mentally and ideologically, I am not."

"So you are a self-professed Goa'uld."

"No, I am a self-professed Tok'Ra."

"What is a Tok'Ra?"

"We are a resistance group who oppose the System Lords and who are working to overthrow them."

"Well, that sounds very nice, but how do we know that's the truth?"

Her voice reasonable in the extreme, she answered at once, "You do not."

"How do we know this isn't a trick to infiltrate and send information to the other Goa'uld?"

"You do not."

"How can we know for sure, if Captain Carter is talking to us, that it is really her?"

"You will just have to take her word for it. Other than that, you do not."

"Can we trust you? You tell us who and what you are and expect us to take it on faith. How can we trust you?"

She cocked her head, as she looked at him and then sighed. "Yes, you can trust me. As far as knowing how you can trust me, that is something, which you must decide for yourselves. I have not lied to you about who and what I am, nor have I lied when I have told you that you may trust me. That is all I can do."

"Do you have superiors?"

"Very few. We are governed by a council of which I will soon become a member, since I am giving up being an operative."

"What do you mean by 'an operative'?"

"The Tok'Ra, being symbiotes, can work from within the Goa'uld. We sow dissent and discord amongst them, keeping them at war with and decimating one another."

"What if you are ordered by your superiors to do something against Earth? Would you obey that order regardless of what Captain Carter wanted?"

"We do not inflict harm on our allies. The situation would not arise."

"You are avoiding the question. Would you carry out an order against Earth?"

"I did give you an answer, and it is the same one now. We do not attack or harm our allies."

"Where does your allegiance lie?"

"My allegiance is to my people and their allies. Which will soon include Earth."

"So, you are admitting that your allegiance lies with your organization whatever it is. Isn't that right?"

"Are you not very conversant in the English Language? My allegiance is to my people and their allies. I will not tell you again."

"And you are Goa'uld, so your allegiance lies with the Goa'uld."

Jolinar stared at him, for a time, and then she turned to O'Neill. Leaning over and pretending to whisper, she asked him, "Why did your people not tell me that the person sent to talk to me was somewhat stupid and had a poor grasp of your language?" Then she turned back to Maybourne, adding in a normal tone of voice, "I am Tok'Ra."

"How do we know you will not spy on us and pass that information on to the Goa'uld System Lords?"

"You have only my word. I will not spy on you, nor will I give information about you to the Goa'uld System Lords. We do not get along with them. It has to do with being at war with them. We simply do not exchange or share information."

"How do we know you won't steal our technology?"

"Because your technology is quite primitive compared to ours."

"Will you give us weapons to fight the Goa'uld?"

"No. Our weapons, other than staff weapons and zat'nik'tels are naquadah based, and you would be unable to use them."

"Will your people agree to become our allies?"

"That, as I am sure General Hammond explained to your President, remains to be seen. I intend to work toward that event."

"What about your superiors? Can we trust them to agree to what you promise?"

"If I was promising you anything, then no, you could not. Our council will vote on my suggestions. In the meantime, I will make you no promises other than personal ones. Should we become allies, then you can trust them, or me, if I am the liaison, to do what we say that we will do."

"So you aren't really offering us anything. No weapons, no alliance, no intelligence, in fact, nothing."

Jolinar smiled. "On the contrary, I am offering you a great deal. I am offering _a chance_ for an alliance with us, which would include a sharing of intelligence. I cannot and will not promise you anything, except that I will do my best to bring this to a successful conclusion. That is all I can offer at this time. I believe it is enough."

Hours later, Maybourne looked frustrated. Jolinar was simply not going to answer any differently no matter how many times they asked the same question only in a different way. Besides that, she was becoming more amused by his attempts by the minute. He looked at his watch. They had been at this, except for a short recess, for almost six hours. As he had predicted, they had learned nothing, as far as he was concerned.

All right, one last question. "You insist that you share with your host and yet we haven't talked to Captain Carter during this entire discussion. Why is that?"

"You have been questioning _me_. I doubt that Samantha would have felt comfortable answering questions that were obviously meant for me. That is the first reason. The second reason is because she has been taking a nap as you, ah, our conversation became rather boring to her. She has just awoken. Would you like to talk to her?"

"Yes. Let's see that vaunted sharing of yours.

"Of course."

"Yes? You had something to ask me?"

"How can we be sure that it's Captain Carter and not Jolinar impersonating her?"

Sam smiled. "I guess you can't. You have to take it on faith."

"You have nothing else to say, Captain? Is she lying about anything?"

"Let me check her memories. Be right back." Very shortly, Sam returned, saying, "No. There were no lies that I could find."

O'Neill looked at his watch and smiled. "Times up, Maybourne. We've got to go. Have a nice trip back to DC. See you around and all of that good stuff."

Maybourne stood and looked at Sam sharply. "Don't think you will get away with this. We'll not allow you to take over the SGC or Earth. We'll fight you every inch of the way, until you and your people are overcome."

Jolinar returned to respond to him, since his comment was aimed at her, and her people, "Whatever you say, Maybourne, but I agree with the, Colonel. We do have a meeting to attend, so if you will excuse us."

Nodding abruptly, Maybourne turned and marched out the door. Jack O'Neill grinned.

TBC


	8. Missions Ch 8 AAOF

_**Chapter Eight Summary:** After SG-1 leaves to 'acquire' two Goa'uld motherships, and rescue Sha'uri, SG-6 returns, but not alone. SG-6 believed him human, but an injury, during a firefight with Jaffa, shows him as Goa'uld; his eyes glowed, when he was severely injured. His survival is questionable; however, Dr. Fraiser aids him. The General is uneasy; reports paint him Tok'Ra, not Goa'uld; he refuses to give information, not even a name. Hammond doesn't report him. He waits for Sam/Jolinar to see if he is Goa'uld or Tok'Ra._

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

_**Author's Note – **I want to thank everyone for the reviews. They mean so much! And the encouragement does wonders of the muse. **SamMartouf4ever**, since I can't send you personal thanks, I will tell you here. I'm very glad that you enjoyed the chapters. I enjoyed writing the interaction between Maybourne and Jolinar(and Sam, too!) and am really pleased that most readers appeared to like it, as well. Jack slowly comes around to feeling friendlier toward the Tok'Ra…as it should have been written, I agree! Once again, thanks to you and everyone else that left reviews on the previous chapters. It is very much appreciated. Pagan_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

_**Missions**_

* * *

Jack O'Neill stood within the group gathering in the gate room. He was restless, but more than that, he was acutely uncomfortable. He _hated_ these damned Jaffa uniforms. There was nothing like wearing a skirt to make you feel like an idiot. He watched Jolinar and Sam as they continually switched control between them. They were in charge, and they were doing a final recheck of their plans, going over them one last time with Teal'c. Neither of them had really told them much about those plans, and that made him frown. He wasn't sure why they were keeping the first part of the mission to themselves. Daniel thought it was so that no one would screw up and say the wrong thing. If they didn't know any details, then they couldn't give anything away. And besides, a Jaffa and a Goa'uld Lord, even an underling, wouldn't share their plans or reasons for what they were doing with anyone. They were simply staying in character so as to become more comfortable with it.

He looked at Teal'c again and shook his head. He would never have believed it was him. Jolinar and the young sergeant they found to do the makeup on the Jaffa had done an outstanding job. The entire Jaffa unit had Cronus's emblem on their foreheads, and they looked freakishly, scarily real. He hoped to hell that they came off easily because he didn't want to have to wear the darned thing until it just wore off by itself. That'd suck big time. Almost as much as wearing a skirt. Teal'c didn't look like Teal'c. From Apophis's missing emblem to the hair, no one would recognize Teal'c as Teal'c. But then, that was the point, wasn't it? If they recognized Teal'c, then all of them needed to be ready for a battle. In a case where that happened, Daniel was to redial the gate and get them the hell out of there. Three of '_her_' Jaffa were assigned to cover him as he dialed them home. Jolinar felt that the odds of that happening were negligible, but she still took the precaution of formulating a plan.

He sighed. He had to give the devil his due; she knew what she was doing when it came to planning a mission. He snorted to himself. He didn't know why he was even slightly surprised. She'd commanded entire armies, for cripes sake. What had he expected—that she would forget the details and just charge in on a wing and a prayer? Well, if that was what he had expected, he'd once again been proven spectacularly wrong.

One of her biggest concerns was that Cronus might have changed his normal time for visiting his secret cache of ships. The only way he would do that was if he was under attack and, as far as she knew, he wasn't in so much as a screaming match with anyone at the moment. Of course, that could have changed. She needed to meet her off world informants; however, there was no way she could take someone else with her. It would be hard enough making contact, since she would be unfamiliar to them. Hammond had allowed her off world alone yesterday, and she'd contacted one of her informants. The woman she met with brought Jolinar up to date on what she knew.

He was pretty sure that he wasn't the only one surprised when she came back several hours later. So, they'd learned they could trust her to do what she said she would do. Their suspicion that she would head for her Tok'Ra base were unfounded. Daniel had made a point of telling him "I told you so" and Teal'c simply looked at him, his expression showing his disappointment in him. That was still bothering him…after all, they still didn't know her that well and, although, he did believe that she and Carter were sharing Carter's body, he still wasn't all that sure that he was convinced of her dependability. He was now, though, and it was a relief to him. It was one more instance that helped to change his thinking that much more.

As they waited, Jack's mind wandered back to the briefing and the things Jolinar told them the day before.

She'd stood before them in the briefing room and explained their secondary mission, "Before we leave on this mission, I believe that there are things that you should know. The Tok'Ra Council would strenuously disagree with me on this, since we are not yet allies; however, I am the one risking my life, as well as yours; therefore, I feel it is imperative that you have this—insight—into the Goa'uld System Lords."

"First, however, before I begin to give you that information, I believe that it is imperative that I try to explain our methods and us. You must understand how the Tok'Ra operate, what we do and how we do it, for it is totally different from your methods. Please do not misunderstand. I am not saying your way is the wrong way. What I am saying, is that we will both need to be more willing to accommodate the other in order for us both to work toward the same goal. You cannot work in the same manner we do, unless you go as a human slave or a Jaffa. We, on the other hand, cannot walk into danger in an obvious way and fight them in open warfare, much as we would like to do so. Were there more of us, it would be different, but we are few and becoming fewer as we lose operatives, or if we cannot find a host. We hope to soon have tanks so that a symbiote can survive outside the host, but I digress."

"I am sure that you have already realized that the Tok'Ra work by stealth and secrecy. We infiltrate. We gather intelligence and do our best to keep the System Lords quarreling and fighting amongst themselves. We do everything we can to keep them in a state of tergiversation, constantly suspicious of one another."

"Many of our missions are long term in that we actually become underlings to the Lord from which we wish to gather information. You will find Tok'Ra operatives in many Goa'uld Courts. It is often the infiltrators that help us escape when we are captured, if they possibly can, and if they cannot they help us to destroy ourselves in such a way that we cannot be revived. We also have to stand by and do nothing, as a comrade is tortured. It is a very difficult thing to do; however, we cannot afford to be discovered. The Goa'uld do not simply kill a Tok'Ra; they kill them over and over. Many of us carry a tiny device that can cause a zat'nik'tel to overload and explode. We take a few Jaffa with us, if they are standing near us, but pieces cannot be placed in a sarcophagus and be revived. Once we know beyond a doubt that we will not be rescued, we attempt to finish ourselves off before we are tortured to the point of insanity. Enough of that."

"As I was saying, we have operatives in many System Lord's Courts and entourages. For instance, as you are aware, we had at least two operatives on Apophis's ships. In order to save our people or perhaps yours, if we are in the process of destroying someone or something, we will have to share information, intelligence. This will be a very large hurdle to overcome, as the Tok'Ra have used stealth and secrecy for over two thousand years. It will not be an easy pattern to change, if we even can change it, and I am sure that there will be resistance on your side as well until they understand the consequences of not sharing our information," she paused after stating that, but not for long. "It will be far too easy for us to kill one another inadvertently. We often blow up naquadah mines, training camps, ships if we can. Your people could very well be on or near one of those when it happens, just as our people were on the ships that were going to attack us here."

"Eventually, the Council will see the wisdom of sharing the information. Their most solid argument will be that, if you know where our operatives are, you could give them away during torture should you be captured. It is a very real possibility. I have given this some thought, though, and I believe I know how to get around it. It would be the same problem if you know where our bases are. That, too, could be given away and cause an entire base to be wiped out, if we are not informed that one of you has been captured. That, too, I can work around; however, it is something to be considered and studied at a later time."

She waited to see if they had any comments, before beginning to talk on one of the other subjects, "My informant gave me some very useful, and possibly even critical, information. It appears that my comment that Cronus was not in so much as a screaming match with one of the other System Lords is now incorrect. Evidently, since my departure from Cronus's ranks, Zipacna has done something to throw Cronus into a rage. He is on the verge of entering a war with him. Apophis, Sokar, and Zipacna are allies. Sokar is now very close to becoming the Supreme System Lord, and that, should it come to pass, is a thing, which would be the worse of the worst, and to be avoided at all costs. He is second in line after Anubis for pure evil; and that was very bad indeed."

After swiftly looking at her teammates and the General once more to see if they had comments or questions, she continued, "Cronus also has allies. Rather powerful ones. They are Ba'al, Bastet, and Heru'Ur. Occasionally, when Lord Yu feels that the threat of whatever they are quarreling over will affect him, he will join whichever side will benefit him the most. He and Ba'al fight often, however, should war break out among the System Lords, they will drop their differences, until it is over, should Lord Yu join their side, and then they will resume hostilities with one another once it is ended."

"With Apophis's defeat at your hands, he has been weakened significantly. It makes him ripe for an attempted takeover. If war breaks out, Sokar would have no qualms in attacking him, ally or not. If he took over Apophis's domains, he could very probably claim the Supreme System Lord's place within their ranks. We cannot allow this to happen. Therefore, we must see to it that Sokar and Cronus become fully engaged with one another. Cronus does not have the strength of Sokar; however, as I mentioned he has Heru'Ur, and Ba'al, both of which are as strong as Sokar at the moment. They _will_ come to Cronus's aid. Sokar, with one of his allies weakened, will be in a poorer, though not desperate, situation. You are now aware of which System Lords are allied and what that means to you and to us."

"Sowing the seeds of rage within Cronus should begin this process. With Sokar stealing his ships, Cronus will turn on him fairly quickly, unless he somehow finds out that it was not Sokar, and I do not believe that will happen. They are not allies. They refuse to even speak or be near one another during summits. Cronus will not allow this to pass unchallenged. Should Sokar convince him that he did not take his ships, he will turn his rage on whomever he believes took them, and he would have no reason to suspect either the Tau'ri or the Tok'Ra. He believes that I am dead, thus I did not report my information to my people. He will set us aside, knowing that while we might work against them, we are rarely aggressive enough to do something on this scale…or so they all believe."

The conversation went on for a short time, but there was almost no new information. Jolinar believed that everything looked good for this mission, and she believed that it was very doable. General Hammond gave them a go and she joined Teal'c in the training area. They spent the remainder of the day practicing maneuvers and being drilled on the correct demeanor and manner of being a Jaffa.

He brought his thoughts back to the present and watched as she walked around checking both the Jaffa and the slaves. He sure hoped Jolinar could pull off the acting like a System Lord's underling without any problems. They really didn't need Cronus to be notified that there was a Goa'uld, who they didn't know, insisting she was to take some of his ships.

"Everyone listen." Jolinar's voice startled him out of his ruminations. She studied them, her gaze critical, as did Teal'c. Eventually, Teal'c nodded to her and she caught each of their gazes. Finally, she began, "We are about to enter a Goa'uld occupied world. There are not a great many Jaffa there _compared to what would be found in most shipyards_," she stressed firmly, watching to be sure we understood that the information was important, before continuing, "simply because only a very few people know of this shipyard's existence. That does not mean there are so few that we can walk in and do as we please."

"Remember that I will be posing as a Goa'uld. I will be acting as a Goa'uld Minor System Lord would. You will address me by my title, _Lord Atarek,_ if you address me at all, which you should never do at any time, unless Teal'c is dead or is not there for some reason." She frowned before adding, "No, actually, even if Teal'c was not there for whatever reason, you still would not go to me unless it was a dire emergency. You would turn to Teal'c's Second in Command. In this case, that is Colonel O'Neill, or, ah, Ja'nak. You will turn to Teal'c first, assuming he is there, and _he_ will decide if I should be bothered by whatever you feel that you must say. Should a_ situation_ arise, which I doubt will happen, but if it does, then _do not under any circumstances__,_ no matter how appalled you are by my actions, give away your feelings. _Do not react_ in any manner other than stoic acceptance of my actions. _Do not attempt_ to either talk to me or stop me. If you do, I will have to either torture you severely or kill you, and I wish to do neither. That is neither a threat nor a joke. _It is a fact_. I will not fail in this mission because one of you gave us away. Be prepared in case there is some aggression on their part. They do not know me. They are not aware of much of what goes on within Cronus's Court, which is to our advantage; however, that does not mean that they will take me at face value."

"Should they, for some reason, attack us, be prepared to return their aggression with deadly intent. If there are more Jaffa there than I expect, and we are badly outnumbered, we will abort the mission as per our plan. Those of you, who are to protect Daniel while he dials us home, know who you are. Those of you, who are acting the part of slaves, will stay at the back behind the Jaffa. _Do not_ attempt to take part in the skirmish, unless there are so many Jaffa that we cannot protect Daniel with only the eleven of us; then you should join the fight. Should it look as if we will fail, be prepared to get out of the way of the Chaappa'ai as it connects and forms. Once it does so, you will all go, as quickly as you can. We will attempt to be directly behind you. Do not forget that we will not be returning to Earth from the shipyard world. We will go to a safe planet and from there to the SGC."

"Does anyone have any questions before we leave on this mission? No? Good."

"Jaffa! Kree!" Jack watched the other '_Jaffa'_ step into place. He took his position beside Jolinar, since he was supposedly Teal'c's second in command, and they were her personal 'guards'. The servants took their positions without any prompting, Daniel the only one that stayed toward the front, as he was expected to stand behind Jolinar, as her lo'tar should. He took a deep breath, as she looked up and nodded to the airman manning the dialing computer. The chevrons started to lock. It appeared that it was now show time. Glancing over at Jolinar one more time, he noticed that her face had changed completely from what they were used to seeing. It wasn't even the face they had seen when she was 'captured' by them, before the Ashrak's attack. The woman who now stood calmly between himself and Teal'c was very much a Goa'uld System Lord. So much so that it was almost heart-stopping. He had no need to worry that she could pull of the being a Goa'uld System Lord. For all intents and purposes, as of now, she '_was_' a Goa'uld System Lord. And, he realized, he was her Jaffa. He stood a little straighter and brought his face into a stoic mask, as they had been taught to do. It was definitely show time.

The gate connected and settled. They stepped up to the event horizon, and Jolinar nodded to Teal'c, who then, nodded to Jack and two other Jaffa. They stepped up behind Jolinar and Daniel, while the remainder of the Jaffa and the servants stood behind them. Jack and Teal'c both stepped closer to Jolinar. At Teal'c's command, they walked into the event horizon, staff weapons at the ready.

* * *

Colonel Stevenson leaned against the side of one of the village buildings and watched the remainder of SG-6 as they interacted with the local people. They had wandered around this world for two days taking soil samples and exploring some ruins that Dr. Jackson thought might hold some interest for them. It was about time to return to the SGC. There were only a few more hours to go, until they would head for the Stargate…then home. The teams attempting to steal a mothership and rescue Dr. Jackson's wife should be leaving about now. He hoped that mission went well.

He frowned as his eyes were once again drawn to where two of his team stood and chatted with a few of the villagers and an oddly dressed man they met the evening before. Upon his arrival, he caught all of their attention. He walked into the village somewhat late yesterday evening and the villagers greeted him happily, obviously well acquainted with him. He'd greeted them happily as well, and when the village headman arrived, he handed over a rather large sack to him. Runners were sent out and soon other villagers arrived. Ruman, the headman, insisted the man hand out whatever it was he carried with him. Smiling, the man had done so quickly and efficiently. From what his team had been able to ascertain, he brought them seeds for planting among other essentials.

However, the Colonel was still puzzled about who and what he was. They were told his name was Marlan. He disappeared for a while shortly after dispensing the items he brought, and many of the villagers went into the building he was in and then returned looking quite happy a short time later. Since he already gave out all of his gifts, he wondered what he was doing. It didn't really matter he supposed, but for some reason he felt there was more to this man than they realized. That he was an honored and welcome guest of these people was very apparent, but when questioned about him, none of them would give them a straight answer. A good friend to them was about all they found out. No one would answer any questions about him. The only other fact they learned was that he was not from this world and that he or others of his people visited them and always brought something they needed.

Pushing away from the wall, he sauntered toward the group. It appeared that the man, too, was preparing to leave. As he stepped to them, Marlan turned to him and bowed his head in greeting, before telling him, "It has been a pleasure to meet with you and your team, Colonel Stevenson; however, I must return to my…home."

The Colonel nodded in return and told him, "We will be leaving shortly ourselves." He was preparing to ask him pointblank what world he lived on, when Marlan's attention snapped away from them and he turned in the direction of the Stargate.

"The Chaappa'ai has activated. Are you expecting more of your people, Colonel?" Marlan's voice was tense and it was obvious that he was disturbed.

"No. We will send a team later to follow up on our initial contact, but not right now." Stevenson frowned, as he realized that Marlan heard the gate activate. The Stargate was quite a distance away. How had he heard it from here?

Marlan spun away from them and ran toward the nearest villager. "You must run to Ruman, and tell him to take his people into the caves. Jaffa approach and they will be here soon. Send runners to the other villages. Go! Hurry!"

He returned to SG-6 and his face was grim. "There are Jaffa on their way here. They do not come often; however, when they do they take slaves, if the people are here. We should hide, as they will attempt to kill us on sight." He sighed. "Not all of the people will get away before they arrive," he murmured almost to himself, before turning to them, "Come."

He turned and headed toward a ramshackle building on the edge of the village. "We must hope that the fact that the village is deserted will encourage them to either advance to the next one or leave. Either way, if they have been here before they will not come in this direction as there are no villages close by in this direction."

They slid silently behind the building, and the Colonel realized that they had a perfect view of the streets and houses from their vantage point. He turned to Marlan and quickly asked him, "How did you hear the gate activate? It's a good two miles away."

Marlan glanced over at him, as he explained, "Although my people have enhanced hearing, even we could not hear it from here. I carry a device that allows me to know if the Chaappa'ai is activated. We have tried to convince Ruman to carry one, but he fears it too much to do so." He shook his head, before adding, "What they do not understand, they fear. Fortunately, their fear does not lead them to hate others that use these things as many do. They do not look on it as "magic". We have managed to show them enough that they understand it is only a device, not something from the "gods". Still, they do not wish to use it themselves, and we cannot force them. They usually keep a guard on the Chaappa'ai. I can only hope that, whoever it was, managed to escape notice. Knowing that I am here and would alert this village, they would have headed off to one of the other villages instead of coming here first."

The Colonel nodded, but did not answer as the party of Jaffa came into view. There were about a dozen, not a large party, but neither would they be a walk in the park if it came to a firefight. His attention was caught by a movement along one of the houses toward the center of the village. A small group of people were attempting to escape. They had small children with them. This was not good. If he saw them, so did the Jaffa.

The command from the Jaffa to halt came almost simultaneously with his thought. He watched as several tried to run, but were cut down by staff blasts. The man glanced at him and he nodded. The Jaffa were rapidly closing in on the remainder of what was turning out to be a fairly large group of villagers. Evidently, they did not get word in time to leave with the others. Mostly women and children, they were terrified. Several had run to their fallen friends and were kneeling next to them, trying to help them. They had to do something; they couldn't simply wait and allow the Jaffa to take these people.

The Colonel signaled to his team and indicated they were to attack. First moving behind objects near to them, they fired above the Jaffa's heads, so that they villagers would not be hit. It paid off as the Jaffa dropped their holds on the people and turned to begin returning their fire. Most of them immediately ran into the forest behind the village, although several were trying to move their fallen comrades, as well. Two of them managed to stumble to their feet and head to the woods with the support of a friend. The third, however, did not move. Two friends were attempting to drag him away.

Out of seemingly nowhere, Marlan was kneeling at the man's side. The Colonel had not even realized that he was not still with them. He turned his attention back to the fight and realized that because they caught them out in the open, there were only a half dozen Jaffa remaining to be eliminated. He turned his attention back to Marlan and the fallen man, only to get the shock of his life. Marlan was using a healing device. Only Goa'uld could use one of those. It made no sense. He didn't act Goa'uld. He was helping these people. Why would he help them? Was he lulling them into a false sense of security? He'd never known a Goa'uld to act that way, but there was a first time for everything. Caught up in his own thoughts, he was surprised when the fallen man stumbled to his feet with the help of Marlan and his friend. He didn't see the Jaffa turn his attention to them and take aim at Marlan. The first he knew of it was when the staff blasts caught him, first in the shoulder and then on the thigh. His eyes glowed and he fell.

The Jaffa was cut down, even as he hit the Goa'uld. It took only moments to finish the fight. All twelve Jaffa lie dead. Colonel Stevenson's voice was grim as he turned to his team. "Marlan, if that is really his name, is a Goa'uld. Approach him with caution. We'll take him back with us. We can't pass up the opportunity to interrogate a Goa'uld. What he was doing here, I don't know. Nothing I can come up with makes sense. Goa'uld don't do the things he did. It doesn't matter, though. Regardless what he did or didn't do, he's still Goa'uld, and I don't trust him." His earlier feeling that something wasn't quite right about the man had been justified, but he hadn't expected this.

He hated to leave the villagers with the dead Jaffa, but there wasn't much he could do about it. They needed to get their prisoner to the SGC, and there was no telling how long it would be before Ruman brought his people back. They couldn't wait to see. "Can we carry him to the gate, Gordon?"

"I think so, Colonel. We can take turns. Or we could use one of those wide boards as a stretcher." Gordon leaned over and picked the Goa'uld up, checking just how heavy he was. He swung him into a fireman's carry and looked to his commander. "I think we can do it this way. Then if he wakes up, there are three of us with free hands to subdue him, if we need to."

Colonel Stevenson nodded, "Let's move out." The trek to the gate wasn't exactly pleasant, but the team managed. Marlan, or whoever he was, didn't awaken and his breathing was erratic and shallow. He frowned, as he realized how badly injured the Goa'uld was. Even as they reached the gate, he wondered if he might die before they could even get him back to the SGC.

"Dial the gate, Gordon. Send the code for a medical team. I think we might be losing him."

"Yes, Sir, Colonel."

* * *

General Hammond watched as the gate shut down as the last of the "Jaffa" and "servants" passed through to the world where they would be attempting to steal a mothership. The General shook his head. They didn't tell anyone else, not even Washington, what they were attempting to do. If they managed to "acquire" one, _then_ they would worry about what to do with it. Tentatively, they were to take it to the Alpha site, until the powers that be could be notified and a decision about it made. _If, _that is, they managed to get one. They would be gone for several days, if all went well, so there was no use wondering about it for now. He turned to return to his office but turned back when he heard the gate engage. Had something gone desperately wrong already?

The wormhole was established but before he could even inquire, Sergeant Davis was announcing, "It's SG-6, Sir, and they need a medical team." As the General leaned over the mike and requested the med team, Sergeant Davis sent the acceptance of the code. The General barely made it to the ramp before SG-6 walked out of the event horizon carrying someone.

"What's going on, Colonel?"

"We had a run-in with a party of Jaffa just as we were getting ready to leave the planet, Sir. This man is a Goa'uld. He said his name was Marlan, but I doubt if that is his real name. He should probably be kept under guard, if he survives. He took two staff blasts, so we are fairly sure they weren't his Jaffa."

The General signaled to two of the soldiers to go with the medical team. Janet Fraiser nodded, assuring him, "I heard, General. We'll be careful, but from the looks of him, I doubt we need restraints," she paused, "at least not yet. First, he has to survive, and I agree with the Colonel. From what little I've seen, I have my doubts that he will."

General Hammond nodded his approval, and Janet followed her most recent patient. She would have to treat the human and hope for the best. She frowned to herself. They should probably be very careful when close to him. The Goa'uld could seek a new host, if he wasn't too weak.

Turning to Colonel Stevenson, he told him, "Go ahead and get checked out. We'll debrief in an hour."

"Yes, Sir," he replied as he handed his weapons off to another. Then remembering something, he turned back and asked, "Did SG-1 get off on their mission?"

The General nodded. "Yes, just now. Had you been a minute earlier, you wouldn't have been able to connect."

Stevenson grinned, "I always did have excellent timing."

The General smiled back at him. "Get out of here, Mike. I'll see you in an hour."

"Yes, Sir." Whistling, he headed for the infirmary.

Two hours later SG-6 was seated around the briefing room table finishing their report. Colonel Stevenson shook his head. "We know the Jaffa that arrived weren't his. Maybe he was a spy for one of the System Lords and so was acting out of character on purpose. As I said, Sir, none of us have even a clue. He wasn't doing anything Goa'uld-like, but there is no doubt that he is one. Dr. Fraiser's test showed the symbiote, and I saw his eyes glow when he was hit. Nothing about the entire incident makes any sense."

General Hammond sighed. "We could speculate all day, but there isn't anything we can do about it at the moment. Dr. Fraiser reported that he is still in critical condition, and she still feels that there is a very real chance that he might not make it. All we can do is wait and hope that he will answer our questions when, or if, he survives. You're dismissed. Get some rest."

SG-6 stood and left the room. General Hammond shut his eyes and leaned back in his chair, as he once more went over everything they told him. They were right. It made no sense…unless. He shook his head and stood. No, he wasn't going to spend any more time speculating. It was pointless and just one more thing about which he refused to wonder. He'd do a Scarlett O'Hara and worry about it tomorrow. He wondered if he should also channel Rhett and just not give a damn. At least that thought made him smile.

TBC


	9. The Theft Ch 9 AAOF

_**Chapter Nine Summary: ** The SGC 'Jaffa', and the System Lord underling Lord Atarek, arrive at Cronus's secret shipyard. Soon they have not only helped themselves to a couple of motherships, but also to the shipwright that was in charge of building it and improving its shields. As they depart, they leave behind a 'gift' for Cronus's Jaffa. _

_**Rating this Chapter -** PG-13  
_

_**Kalach shal'tek: **Victory or Death_

_**Avidan: **The Gods are Just_

_**Arik tree-ac te kek: **We do not surrender, even in death_

_**Kel shak: **You will do my bidding_

_**Ya'isid ma'gue: **We must leave_

_**Ai'emain: **Stand up/Rise _

_**Ac'yr kash'trek: **Loosely, "Who's in charge/Who is responsible_

_**Swaic: **Understood?_

_**Kree: **Attention/Listenup/Stop/Yoo Hoo _

_**Tewl'tac, Ja'nak: **The names that Teal'c and Jack used during the mission_

_**Tal shak: **Come on/Hurry up/Do it_

_**Mel noc tee: **Something along the lines of "go check it out"_

_**Jankin: **Tell at once or search_

_**Yas: **Now_

_**Shor'wai'e: **Hurry up_

_**Bradio:**_ _Now go/hurry up/come on_

_**Sha'lokma'tor: **Get them/him/her_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Nine**_

_**The Theft**_

* * *

SG-1 stepped into the event horizon and exited on the other side. Jolinar quickly scanned the area, as did Teal'c. There were only two Jaffa on guard at the gate, and they, of course, immediately challenged them.

Teal'c lost no time in intimidating the Jaffa guarding the Stargate, _"Jaffa, Kree! Ke'i kyn, Lord Atarek." _(Jaffa, attention! Kneel to Lord Atarek)

Seeing that the Jaffa with her appeared to be Cronus's Jaffa, they relaxed somewhat, even as they knelt at Teal'c's command. Jolinar stepped forward, _"Ai'emain. Ac'yr kash'trek? Sha'lokma'tor! Yas!" _(Rise. Who is in charge? Get them! Now!)

One of the now standing Jaffa, bowed, and ran off, so Jack had to assume that he was going to get the head guy, since that was what Jolinar had told him to do. He was glad now that they had made them memorize some of the phrases she would be using. At least they were sort of aware of what was being said.

In a very short space of time, the first Jaffa came running up with another Jaffa who took them all in at a glance, even as he bowed to Jolinar. Daniel was watching as closely as Jack was. He found it comforting that Jolinar didn't seem the least bit nervous. Her demeanor was probably what was keeping the remainder of them on an even keel. Turning his attention back to the conversation, he heard the new Jaffa ask what he could do for Jolinar, "I am Prey'tac. How may I serve you, My Lord?"

Her answer was swift and succinct. "My Lord Cronus has sent me to bring two of his motherships to him, at once. He is in need of them immediately. Which ones do you have ready to go into battle, and what is their compliment of Al'kesh and gliders?"

"We have two that are ready to go through their test flights tomorrow. Both of them have four Al'kesh, and a full complement of death gliders."

"Very well. I wish to see them." Giving him no time to answer she continued, "_Ya'isid ma'gue. _ We must return immediately. _Kel shak. Bradio! Yas!" _ (We must leave.) (You will do my bidding.) (Hurry up!) (Now!)

He bowed low, saying, "Of course, my Lord. This way please."

Nodding disdainfully, Jolinar consented to allow him to lead them to the ships.

"_Jolinar, does this seem too easy to you?" _Sam put her question to her, as they strode swiftly toward the two ships.

Jolinar gave a mental shrug, as she began to give her opinion,_ "Not necessarily, my Sam. I have on a ribbon device, and Teal'c has a great deal of presence. He has Cronus's emblem, it is obvious I am a quite highly placed Goa'uld underling, and I have an impressive contingent of Jaffa and servants. However, I do not plan on tarrying. Besides the chance that Cronus could show up at any time, there is also the chance that the Jaffa will think to check with him. So far, I do not believe that he will; however, it is very possible that he will yet challenge me, as to why Cronus sent someone, whom he has never seen nor heard of, to a secret shipyard to collect his ships for him. I will be very sure that Teal'c remains with him. I do not wish to take the chance on him contacting Cronus." _

"_Are you sure we should take two motherships?" _Sam sounded hesitant, as she second-guessed the decision they made the night before.

"_Yes, I am. The more thought I gave to it, the more I realized that, if Cronus was in a battle, and sent me for more firepower, he would not have me take an Al'kesh or two. He would want several Al'keshes as well as the death gliders. It is too bad that the Warship is not completed, but the motherships will do nicely in its place." _She paused before adding_, "Assuming, of course, that we can pull this off." _

"_You will,"_ Sam nodded, as she assured her quietly. _"I have every confidence in you, Jol. I can't even perceive you failing in this. It just won't happen."_ She mulled over Jolinar's reasoning, and after a few moments thought, she agreed with her, _"I believe you're right. It does make sense to take the motherships. _ _If we came and took nothing more than a couple of Al'keshes, when there is a battle either soon to begin, or already underway, it would definitely seem a little odd." _

"_Yes, that is the conclusion I came to, as well," _Jolinar indicated her agreement, before the Jaffa began speaking to her.

"My Lord, it is the two on the far end of this row." They turned their attention back to the Jaffa, as he pointed out the two motherships that were the most battle ready.

Jolinar grunted at him, before insisting that they inspect them. Speaking briskly, she informed him, "I wish to see them. Escort us, and we shall soon see if they are truly complete enough to go into battle."

Sam spoke to her urgently, _"Jolinar, he is looking at us rather oddly. I think he is waiting for us to do or say something." _

Looking over at him, Jolinar had to agree, "_You are correct, my Sam. He is becoming suspicious." _She frowned, and then smiled slightly. _"Cronus rarely leaves anything to chance. I must admit that, in this way, he is very well organized, and I had forgotten about this. He is waiting for me to say the correct phrases, which will tell him that I have indeed come from Cronus." _

"_Damn! What do we do now?" _

"_We tell him that which he wishes to hear. I leave nothing to chance either." _Turning to him, Jolinar stated firmly, _"__Avidan._ _Arik tree-ac te kek. Kalach shal'tek! _(The Gods are just.) (We do not surrender, even in death.)(Victory or death!)_" _Jolinar whispered to Sam,_ "I wonder how Cronus would feel, if he knew that his passphrases were part of the Tok'Ra funeral rituals?" _

Sam laughed softly, _"I very much doubt he would have used them. He would probably rather be forced to kneel to a Tau'ri."_

Standing beside them, Jack almost frowned, but stopped just before it became apparent on his visage. Why in the world was she telling this guy that the Gods were just, and that they would die before they surrendered? What was going on here? Victory or Death? Well, whatever the point of it was the Jaffa seemed pleased with it. Surly, this wasn't going to be this easy, was it?

Jolinar did not even glance at him, as she asked once more, "They are completely battle ready? Are you positive? I do not wish to take a ship, which is not ready, into battle. We have little time. I must return with reinforcements, as quickly as possible. The skirmishes could end, and the true battle could begin, at any time."

Finally believing that his God was in need of these ships, he told her, "I believe that they are ready, except for the final testing. Would you wish me to have that done now?"

"Do you have any reason to believe that they would not be battle worthy?" She demanded of the Jaffa. The more questions she asked, the more uncomfortable he was becoming.

"I am not sure, My Lord. I am not in charge of the ships. I am in charge of security."

Jolinar stood in quiet contemplation for a moment. She really did not want to linger, however, there was something she needed to find out if it was at all possible to do so. Making her decision, she turned to the Jaffa once more, stating, "My Lord Cronus indicated that you have the shipwright here. I wish to see him immediately. Bring him to me, at once." Turning her back on Prey'tac, she appeared to be studying the outside of the ship.

"I will find and bring him to you immediately, My Lord."

"_Sha'lokma'tor! __Shor'wai'e! Yas! _(Get him!)(Hurry up!) (Now!)_"_ Without pausing, she continued, _"Tewl'tac, Ja'nak, Kree! _ (Teal'c, Jack, Attention!) Go with him. _Mel nok tee. __Shor'wai'e! __Tal shak, yas! _ (Check it out.) (Hurry up!) (Do it, now!) My Lord Cronus is awaiting us; the battle may already have begun. _Bradio! (_Now go!)"

Teal'c and Jack nodded, the two Jaffa standing behind them moved up into their places to take over in protecting their Lord. Jack and Teal'c followed Prey'tac as he took off running toward some buildings. Their task was quickly accomplished and Jolinar and Sam watched them, as they jogged back toward them.

Jolinar found herself frowning, as she looked at the man with them. He was younger than she had expected, dressed in desert robes, and he was obviously unhappy. Somehow, though, she did not believe it was because of her and her demands. As they neared her, she realized that she could detect no symbiote. Ah, that explained it. He was a slave, not a Jaffa, and she would guess that he did not take to it well. There was a bruise on his right cheek, and he held himself rigidly, as if he was in pain. She closed her eyes for a moment. Wonderful. She supposed she would have to attempt to rescue him…if, that is, he wanted to be rescued. If he was indeed an experienced shipwright, he would be a good person to pull into their sphere of influence. Although, there were many Tok'Ra familiar with ships and able to work on them, none of them would have the experience this man would have. Well, time would tell.

Approaching her, he introduced himself, "I am K'haydan. What may I do for you, My Lord?" He spoke in an even tone, giving nothing of his inner emotions away; however, Jolinar could tell that he would rather be anywhere else, with anyone else, and that he would rather chew glass than have to call her _My Lord._ Well, she could not do anything about it with Prey'tac standing by them.

She turned from him, before she answered, and told Teal'c, "Take Prey'tac and begin a check of the other ship. Inspect it thoroughly. Remain there until we join you."

Teal'c bowed his head to Jolinar, murmuring, "At once, My Lord." He then turned to Prey'tac who was standing near him, saying, "You will come with me to the ship in question, and we will begin our inspection. _Yas!_" (Now!)

Prey'tac did not question the order; he simply turned, as Teal'c did, and started toward the other ship.

Jolinar indicated that four more of 'her' Jaffa should accompany them. Once they were out of hearing range, Jolinar waved toward the two Motherships, asking K'haydan, "Are these two ships battle ready? Is there anything we need to know about that needs worked on, and can it be completed once we are on our way?"

He answered promptly, if stoically, "They are quite ready, My Lord. It will take me only a few minutes to finish the crystal placements on this one. The other one you are ruminating on is completely ready, and both were due to be tested within the next day or two."

Jolinar nodded abruptly, answering him quickly, "We will go now, and you will finish the crystals. _Yas!" _ (Now!)

The man did not reply, but turned and walked briskly toward the ship. Within a very short space of time, they were watching, as he placed the last of the crystals. "Are there replacement crystals on board, or do I need to send for them?"

"They are in there," he answered, as he nodded toward a door on the opposite wall. "Most of the extra parts that might be needed are in there as well."

"Where is the homing device? I wish to assure myself that it is functioning correctly."

The man looked a little surprised. Jolinar stared at him for a short time. Then, because he was human and not Jaffa, even though, it was out of character, for a System Lord, she said quietly, "If I should be attacked on my way to join the battle, and my ship is damaged, I wish to have the homing device, so that they can detect and find us should the need arise."

Since that seemed logical to him and he had no real choice, anyway, he nodded and led the way down several service corridors, until they were deep within the vessel. "Kneeling, Jolinar looked it over quickly. It was very simple in design, and she wondered if it had a failsafe mechanism. "Does it have a failsafe? If we are boarded would they be able to disable it, if they found it?"

"No, it does not, so it would be easy to disable. None was requested; however, I could add one to this mechanism. It would only take me a short time."

Jolinar sighed deeply, and then, a vague plan began to take place. She turned back to him, and shaking her head, she told him, "No, K'haydan, I do not have even those few minutes to spare. Every second I spend here is that much longer, before I can return and help in the battle. You have done all that you can. She paused before asking, "The other ship…does it also have a homing device, and is there a failsafe on it?"

"No, it only has the same device as this one. I am sorry; there is no failsafe, My Lord. I was not instructed to add one on that ship either."

After a few moments of quiet deliberation, she suddenly turned to him, and asked, "If you had the failsafe mechanism with you, could you install it during its flight?"

He frowned slightly, but scrutinized the idea carefully, before answering, "Yes, I believe that I could do so. It is a fairly simple procedure." She nodded in response to his answer. It was obvious that she was thinking deeply about something, and he wondered why she wanted to know. He did not voice his question, though, as he knew he would get no answer from her, but he might get a beating from the Jaffa. Therefore, he waited as patiently as he could, while she stared at the opposite wall, obviously considering something, and perhaps weighing possibilities.

Finally, she turned back to the shipwright, telling him, "You will go with us. I do not have anyone with me that could repair this ship, or the other one, if something goes wrong. After seeing the sudden look of interest in his eyes, she was sure that she was correct in thinking he needed to leave this world. At a guess, she would say that the Jaffa, for whatever reason, were taking turns in beating him and possibly even torturing him.

She turned away, waved to one of her Jaffa, and told him, "Take K'haydan back to his quarters, and then await him while he packs his belongings. Bring everything that you can, but it is his choice as to what goes and what is left behind, if the complete removal is impossible within the timeframe. Be swift. He will not be returning here, so take four of the servants, and another Jaffa with you to help carry his things. She turned back toward K'haydan giving him a questioning look."

He shook his head. "I—I have very little. It will not take more than two of them."

"_Swaic_," (Understood) she told him, "However, I will send three, but no extra Jaffa, to help carry your possessions. Hoe'tec, my Jaffa, will escort you back to your quarters. You will have perhaps fifteen minutes to pack your things. You heard what I have already said…bring everything which holds importance for you, as well as anything else you have time to pack." She nodded to three of the servants indicating they should be ready to go with him."

Having indicated through subtle signs to another of 'her' Jaffa that she wanted the unknown Jaffa kept occupied and at a distance, she watched, as he managed to slowly move them farther away. She led K'haydan to the other side of the room. Once she was sure that they could no longer hear her, she gave K'haydan her undivided attention. She began quickly, asking him, "Do you wish to remain here? If so, then you can simply refuse to go with me." At the negative shake of his head, she continued, "I will tell Prey'tac that I am taking you, since I have no one that can repair this ship should something go wrong."

He looked bewildered; however, the offer of getting away from this place was important enough that he would take the chance that she would be no worse than Cronus and his Jaffa.

Seeing his nod of agreement, she murmured, "All right. Remember, you must hurry, and bring as much of your belongings as you can. You will not be returning here, I assure you. _Swaic?" _ (Understood?)

Bowing low to her, he answered swiftly, "Yes, My Lord, I understand."

Both Jolinar and Sam were quite certain that he did not have a clue, as to what was happening, but that was all right. Once they were away from this world, they would explain who and what they were. Then he could decide his future for himself. For now, they had no time to tell him anything. After first motioning to the servants, she turned to him, "You need to go now. Fifteen minutes is all you have. _Now hurry up. Go_."

Once K'haydan left, Jolinar finished examining the console in front of her, before turning to her retinue. Nodding to the two Jaffa that were now her shadows, she told them, "I have finished here for now. You will come with me to the other ship." Turning to look at the servants, she ordered them, "You will all remain here and prepare quarters for me and my lo'tar."

Then she turned to Cronus's Jaffa. "We will need supplies. Are they here, or do you need to bring some to the ships?"

"It should be fully stocked with everything you would need, My Lord. It is one of the final jobs that must be accomplished before the ship is tested."

An abrupt nod was her only answer; however, she had one last order to give them, "You will proceed to disconnect the ship in preparation for launch. When you have finished on this one, you will do the same with the other. When I return, I expect to be able to leave at once. _Swaic_?" (Understand?)

"At once, My Lord." The Jaffa that was taking Prey'tac's place, until he returned, answered her and gave instructions to the other Jaffa that were with him.

Once they left, Jolinar and her Jaffa followed. They joined Teal'c on the other ship, and he gave his report, "My Lord, everything appears to be in working order."

Jolinar nodded slightly, before telling him, "I am taking the shipwright with us. He assured me that this ship is completely ready. We may need him, if something goes wrong with one of the ships. Since they were not taken through their test flights, I want someone that is very familiar with them along. We can return him when we return the ships."

Teal'c bowed slightly, as he answered, "As you wish, My Lord."

"Was the homing device in place?"

"Indeed, My Lord."

"Very good. Come, I wish to walk through the ship, and then we must be on our way."

A very quick tour later and Jolinar turned to Prey'tac. "Come. You will need to make sure that your Jaffa have finished disconnecting the ships. I will follow shortly, and I will expect your report on their progress."

Knowing a dismissal when he heard one, Prey'tac left to find his Jaffa. He still wondered if he should have attempted to contact Lord Cronus. But she had known the phrases and their order, so, no. It was that so few knew about this shipyard. Having someone unknown come and demand two motherships had disturbed him. He was still frowning, when he found the first of his Jaffa. "Are the ships released?"

"Yes. Both of them are finished and ready to launch."

"Very good." Hearing a step behind him, he turned to see Lord Atarek. Before she could ask, he told her, "The ships are released and ready to serve our Lord."

He was given a curt nod from the obviously preoccupied Lord, before she turned on her heel and made her way to the ship she chose as hers. She checked that the shipwright had returned. Several of her Jaffa and servants changed from one ship to the other.

Prey'tac watched as one of the Jaffa placed something on the ground before moving to the other ship. He wondered what he had set down, but he could not get to it now. Both ships were powering up, and he did not plan on being any nearer than he already was, until they were well away. Once they were gone, he walked over and picked up a stone tablet and the control for it. Waving it over it, the words made themselves known, and it read: Lord Sokar sends his compliments and thanks, for the gift of these new motherships, to Lord Cronus. He will see him in battle.

The Jaffa turned pale and then looked up into the sky. His decision was made immediately. He was leaving. He had heard that there was a resistance group started by Lord Apophis's former first prime, the Shol'va, Teal'c. He would search them out. It was time for him to also become Shol'va…for staying here was a death sentence. Handing the tablet to his second in command, he turned and walked away.

He had much to do and it must be done both quickly and stealthily. The others would attempt to stop him, he knew. If he was absent, Cronus would take his displeasure out on the next in command. He smiled grimly. There was a very good chance that, once he was gone, the others might well decide to become Shol'va, as well. He would rather be a traitor to his supposed "God" and be alive, than to be a loyal servant to a false "God" and be dead. Entering his small resting place, he began to pack. He did not hear his second in command come in, so his voice startled him.

"Where will you go, Prey'tac? Do you truly believe that there is anywhere that Cronus will not find…us? I am coming, as well. I see no reason to give up my life to him over something like this. She knew the correct phrases. We had no reason to disbelieve her. That will not matter to him, though, so I, too, am leaving. It is my belief that many will follow us." He sighed. "I am very much afraid, though, that we will find no place to hide where he will not find us."

"If you are serious and truly wish to leave, then you may come with me. If I find that you are doing it to be a traitor to me, I will kill you, that I promise you. I have hated Cronus, for a very long time, and I am ready to leave him. As for where I am going—I am not sure. I believe my first stop will be at one of the temples to steal a new primta. Mine is almost mature. I do not wish to have to find one in the near future. Then I will attempt to find an old mentor of mine. If anyone can find the free Jaffa, he can. If you want to accompany me, go pack. I will be leaving very shortly."

"It will not take me long. How are you going to rid the gate of the guards?"

"We will relieve them so that they can eat something. Once they are gone, we will leave."

He nodded agreeing, "You are correct. It will be time for their meal soon now. I will go pack and meet you at the Chaappa'ai."

"Very well. Do not take any longer than you must."

The other Jaffa nodded and left. Prey'tac hoped he had not made a mistake. The two of them were longtime friends, so he did not believe he had. He hefted the large duffle bag, which was filled with what little he owned, his clothing, and his most important possessions. Then he picked up his staff weapon, walked out the door, and did not look back. Excitement was beginning to grow. Perhaps this was not such a bad thing, at all. He would know that in the near future he was sure.

* * *

Jolinar stretched, retreated, and handed control off to Sam. For now, the ship was moving along on auto and needed very little oversight. She contacted Teal'c immediately after leaving the atmosphere to make sure that he disconnected the homing device, as soon as possible if he had not already done so. She sent O'Neill with K'haydan to make sure that he disconnected the one in this ship. Then she changed her own clothes, something all of the others had already finished doing.

K'haydan watched them, as each returned dressed in BDUs. It was obvious that he was puzzled as to what was happening. Sam walked toward him and then sat down beside him. Smiling slightly at him, she began the ordeal of explaining who and what they were, "K'haydan, I would imagine that by now you've figured out that we aren't, ah, Cronus's, um, servants."

Drawing a deep breath, he nodded before he replied, "Yes. However, although I know who you are not, I do not know who you are."

Sam nodded. "I'll tell you, but I must have your word that you won't discuss it with anyone but those of us here. All of us, except for Teal'c, are members of the United States Air Force or the United States Marines. We live on the first world, the Tau'ri. We're a human resistance group ranged against the Goa'uld. We just stole these ships, as you are aware. You see, although Earth, our planet is called Earth, is fairly technologically advanced, considering our starting point, we are a very long way from space flight. We have no way to defend our world from the Goa'uld."

She sighed. "The story is actually very long, so I'm just giving you the highlights, okay? I'll try not to leave any pertinent information out, but on the other hand, I can't let you know any classified material either. So far, I've only told you things that everyone at the SGC already knows. The general population of Earth doesn't know about the Stargate, though, so you can't talk about it should you be allowed to leave the base, which you probably won't be, but just in case…the Stargate is classified information. So, to continue…not long ago, we became aware of the Tok'Ra. Are you familiar with them?"

He shook his head, stating, "No. My world is very advanced, but until quite recently, they were both pacifist and isolationist. We had no ties to anyone else, although we knew of the Goa'uld and other races. We thought that our defenses were sufficient. We were wrong. Not long ago, Cronus attacked and razed much of our world, before we were able to force him to give up and leave. Fortunately, we have some technology that negated his shields and by doing so, our defenses were able to take care of him. He captured some of us before we managed to defeat his attack though. I am the only one he kept. The others he…killed."

He swallowed hard, keeping his emotions in check, before continuing, "I was the head of my department, the lead scientist in our defense section of the government. Although not aggressive, we did believe in having defenses against any attacker. Several of us tried to warn the council many times that our defenses needed to be improved. I would imagine they believe us now…if any of them survived the attack. Many died. My entire family was killed. I was away at the institute at the time. I would like to be considered as a warrior for your cause, Lord Atarek. I know I am not a trained soldier, but I might be able to work with your scientists to develop some defenses for your world. Would this be possible?"

Sam gave a very small laugh, before replying, "I'm sorry. I should have introduced myself to you at once. I'm definitely not a Lord of any kind. I'm just plain old Captain Samantha Carter. Lord Atarek, as far as I know, doesn't exist except in our imaginations." She paused before continuing, "To tell you the truth, K'haydan, I don't know what you'll be allowed to do, but I can tell you that it would certainly give them something to think about, since you obviously have knowledge about technology that's more advanced than ours. Of course, cooperating in the stealing of this ship, and being the scientist that was in charge of building it, will weigh in your favor, I can guarantee that. If you're truly able to help, then, they may very well allow you to stay." Sam cleared her throat, before saying, "There are a couple of other options open to you, if our government doesn't agree to allow you to work with us…which to be honest, I very much doubt. In my opinion, our leaders will be ecstatic to have you. You could become a Tok'Ra."

He looked at her blankly. "I am afraid I do not know what a Tok'Ra is."

Sam smiled slightly, before telling him, "The Tok'Ra are a resistance group within the Goa'uld. They disrupt and cause turmoil amongst the System Lords, since they can work from within their ranks. The most important way they differ from Goa'uld is that they won't take an unwilling host, nor do they subjugate their host. They truly share the body with them. I know this for a fact, K'haydan, because…I am Tok'Ra. You were talking to Jolinar, my symbiote, during the theft of this fine ship."

He stared at her with his mouth slightly open for a longish pause blinking at her in a dazed manner, before gasping, "You have a Goa'uld within you?" When I realized that you were not Goa'uld, I assumed you were using some sort of voice distortion technology, so that you would appear to be one of them.

Sam nodded, as she smiled at him. "The reason Jolinar had control before was that she can act the part of a System Lord, something that I can't do. In situations like this one, it's imperative that there are no mistakes, so the symbiote takes the lead. As soon as the danger was over, she returned control of the body back to me. They are always in need of willing hosts, so you see that's also an option for you. Don't make a snap judgment or decision, please. Get to know them first. Give it some serious thought, after you manage to push your feelings about the Goa'uld away. Ask questions. We'll revisit the subject sometime in the future, I promise you."

She shifted her position and relaxed a little more, before continuing. "It was Jolinar that realized you needed to be rescued from the Jaffa, and she concocted the plan to get you away from them and Cronus. But I am digressing, so I'll return to the subject we were discussing. Another choice you have is to return to your own world and people. I'm sure that could be arranged. If you think that's a possibility, we'll definitely keep your abilities between just us. There are some factions in our government who would take you and attempt to force you to work for us. Those of us at the SGC don't do that, so we can't let that information out, unless you decide to stay on Earth and work for us."

Taking one more deep breath, she told him, "The last option you have is to go and live with the Tollan. I have a feeling that you're probably on a par with them intellectually and technologically. They're okay, I guess. I have one person among them that I really like and consider a friend, but due to a very bad experience in sharing their technology with a less developed world, they refuse to give us any technology at all. It's frustrating, but I can see their point of view. They lost their entire world because of the way the world they tried to help used the technology they gave them."

"There are other peoples that would be very happy to have you join their worlds, but most of them are very far behind even us, as far as technology is concerned. I'm afraid you'd find you have nothing to interest you on those worlds. Although," Sam smiled softly, for she had a soft spot for the people on this particular world, "the people of Argos might at least interest you, for a while. And, though their population is very small, there are some lovely women there." She chuckled as his cheeks tinted with color. "I'll stop teasing you now. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, I do actually. Where are we going now? To your homeworld?"

Sam shook her head, adding, "No. We're on our way to a world called Abydos." She nodded her head toward Daniel, as he stood talking to Jack. "The man over there that played the part of my Lo'tar is the reason we're going there. His wife was stolen by Apophis, and he made her his queen. It's been about a year and a half now, since it happened, but he still loves her very much. Jolinar believes she knows where Sha'uri is, so we're going to see, and if she's there, we'll rescue her and take her back to Earth with us."

K'haydan frowned before asking her, "But if Apophis made her his queen, does that not mean that she is Goa'uld? How will you capture her? Will she not have a great many Jaffa to protect her? You have very few warriors with you. I will be glad to help, if I can. I know how to use a staff weapon and a zat'nik'tel."

Sam reached over and clasped his hand, for a moment, before squeezing it gently. "Normally, getting to Sha'uri would be extremely difficult. You're correct, and she would have a hefty contingent of Jaffa to protect her. However, this isn't a normal situation. It appears that she is pregnant with Apophis's child, and we believe that he has hidden her on Abydos. Since the symbiote must be dormant during a human pregnancy, Sha'uri has control of her body. There should be no Jaffa there or at least very few, if any. Those things we won't know, until we arrive, which should be by early tomorrow. If our luck holds, Daniel will be able to convince her to come with us, and we'll have Amaunet removed from her. Unless something untoward happens, it should be a fairly simple rescue. We can only hope that it will go as well as our theft of these ships did." She gave him another smile and stood. "I'm a little tired, so I think I'm going to go take a nap. If you're tired, just find a place and go to sleep. If you're hungry, I'm sure someone can find the food, or since you probably know where it is, you can help yourself to whatever you want. Daniel will probably introduce himself, when he finishes talking to the Colonel, if you don't lie down. You'll like him, almost everyone does. I'll see you later, K'haydan."

He bowed his head in respect and he wished her beautiful dreams. As she walked away, he leaned back against the wall of the mother-ship. Where, he wondered, would his life lead him next?

TBC


	10. Rescue Ch 10 AAOF

_**Chapter Ten Summary: **On Abydos, Sha'uri is very obviously pregnant. Kasuf is upset when he learns that the demon still lives within her. Daniel assures both of them that it won't be that way for much longer. Their allies know how to remove a Symbiote. Leaving a 'gift' from Heru'Ur behind for Kasuf to present to Apophis, to both protect Kasuf and the Abydonians, and cause even more strife between Apophis and Heru'Ur, they make their escape even as another ship enters the atmosphere. _

"_**Italics" –** Symbiote-Host Communications_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Ten**_

_**Rescue**_

* * *

The entire group had changed into BDUs and were sitting around comfortably, even as they were concerned about what they might find awaiting them on Abydos. Jolinar and Sam were both resting, neither of them seeming to be particularly troubled, but then it was hard to tell with the Tok'Ra. They'd laid their plans, and there was no point in worrying over them now. They'd studied them over and over, as they planned the mission. They'd taken each and every scenario that either of them could think of, as well as any possibilities the others brought to light, into consideration and planned out responses to each event in case one of them occurred. There was little more that they could do at this point except to rest and be ready for whatever might be thrown their way.

The shipwright had been induced to take some rest, as there was still a good twelve hours before they reached Abydos. He still felt dazed over all that he had been told and learned. He finally believed that he was now free to do exactly as he chose. The options they laid before him gave him much to think about as well. He watched the Tok'Ra, Jolinar/Samantha, and studied them carefully. As he listened to them and the others talking, he soon realized that the two were truly sharing Samantha Carter's body and working together. He found the entire idea intriguing, and the idea of fighting against the Goa'uld pulled at him.

He was not a soldier, but a Tok'Ra would be. He would learn. He would like to remain with Jolinar/Samantha though, if he did blend, at least until he felt more confident. He wondered what the chances of that would be. After another conversation with Samantha Carter, he was very sure that he could be a very big help to them, if they would allow him to join the Tau'ri. So of the options given to him, he was torn between two of them. Both appealed equally to him. He would just have to wait and see how things worked out. There was no point in trying to make a decision now. Soon, he was asleep, and for the first time in a long time, he slept deeply and without fear.

* * *

Sam and Jolinar watched as Daniel paced in circles around the room. While everyone else was relaxing, he was getting more nervous and strung out with each passing moment. Finally, they sighed, stood up, and walked over to him.

"Okay, Daniel, I think you've carved enough ruts in the floor for now. Come sit down and rest for a little while. It's almost time to change back into our other clothes. All of the Jaffa symbols have been changed already, both the Colonel and Jolinar and I have been disguised so none of the people on Abydos will recognize us, and we've gone over our plans again, so getting redressed is the only thing left to do. Come on. Sit." Sam motioned to the side of the room where she had been relaxing.

He followed her back and lowered himself to the floor. "I'm scared that she isn't there, Sam. What if we are wrong? What if the mission is pointless? How do I cope with that?"

Sam sighed deeply. She had very much feared that this would happen. She took his hand in hers and looked at him, sympathy showing in her eyes. "Then we keep looking, Daniel. We keep trying. You know that Jolinar doesn't know for sure that she is there…but, she does believe that she is. We'll just have to see what happens when we get there."

"As for the mission being a waste if she isn't there, that may be true, but the entire mission is not a waste. We've set Sokar and Cronus at each other's throats. That needed to be accomplished. Hopefully, if Sha'uri is on Abydos, we will succeed at setting another two of the major players against one another, thereby keeping Sokar from becoming Supreme System Lord."

Daniel's head dropped back against the wall. "I know you're right, Sam, I just want to get there and get this over with. The not knowing is what's killing me. I guess I just can't believe that she might actually be there, and yet I know I'll be very disappointed if she isn't."

Sam squeezed the hand that she held. "I know, Daniel. We'll be there for you, though, if things don't work out. We won't give up trying to find and capture her. I promise and so does Jolinar."

Daniel smiled briefly, telling her, "I know, Sam, and I appreciate it. All of it, even if it proves to be that she isn't there. You and Jolinar worked hard to get this mission up, and you've taken most of the risks so far. Let's hope the second half of the mission won't be as dangerous."

Sam smiled at him, answering, laconically, "Well, the only real threat is if someone else is there when we arrive, or arrives before we leave. Let's hope that neither of those things takes place."

Looking around Sam realized that the soldiers were beginning to change into their Jaffa uniforms. The servants were now armed and it looked a little incongruous to see the women in their flowing skirts holding P-90s. She grinned and heard Daniel laugh softly beside her. "Yeah, it does look pretty weird and out of place, doesn't it, Sam? This takes the hand of steel in a velvet glove to an all new level."

Standing, Sam smiled down at him, not even fazed that he had almost read her mind. "Yes. It does. Velvet and lace covering something dangerous and deadly. Maybe we should try that as a battle tactic sometime," she quipped. Daniel could tell though that her comment hadn't all been in jest. He stood up and nodded to her. "Come on, Daniel, it's time to go change. The women need to change into their Jaffa gear as well. It's all find and good for them to wander around the ship in velvet dresses, but if we need back-up for some odd reason, they have to be able to come out fighting. They're our last defense. If it wasn't for the fact that you never see female Jaffa fighting, I'd take them with us as we go. I just hope we don't need them to come out of hiding." Frowning, she added, "Have you decided whether to go as Jaffa or not?"

Daniel groaned. "No, I still don't know what would be better."

Sam paused as she listened to Jolinar, telling her, _"Samantha, I wonder if our shipwright would care to lend Daniel his robes? They are very like those worn by a Jaffa priest, so would not look out of place. Once we are on Abydos and confront her, I am quite sure that Sha'uri would feel more comfortable with Daniel looking more normal, even though he will be surrounded by guards. Except for Sha'uri and Kasuf, the people must believe that we are sent from Heru'Ur. That is the main reason we decided to keep the women inside the Alkesh, unless there is a dire emergency. Seeing women Jaffa, although there are some, would make them very suspicious, as well as alerting Apophis to something being "off" about Kasuf's story, if he questioned any of them. He would know that Heru'Ur does not have female Jaffa. One of our main concerns was that most of the people would recognize Daniel. If we use the robes, he can hide his face until we are alone with Kasuf and Sha'uri. We should have considered this solution before now and why we did not I do not know." _ Jolinar frowned before reiterating, _"We must keep Daniel from being recognized, and since we want both Kasuf and Sha'uri to recognize him, it is best if he is not disguised. We must hope that Kasuf's people see us as nothing except Jaffa and an underling of Heru'Ur's." _

"I think that is a very good idea, Jolinar. Let's run it by Daniel and then talk to K'haydan. Turning back toward Daniel, after listening to Jolinar she told him, "Jolinar thinks that we should see if K'haydan will loan you his robes. We don't think the people should see you. It would be bad if any of them saw you. We can only hope that Kasuf can keep them from saying anything about us to Apophis if they do recognize any of us."

Daniel nodded, after he gave the situation some quick thought. "I'll go see him, Sam. I have a feeling it won't be a problem."

"Okay, go ahead. Come back as soon as you can and we will go over the plans one more time."

"I'll be back shortly."

* * *

Daniel re-entered the room, now completely covered, and unidentifiable. They nodded in approval. They would soon drop out of hyperspace over Abydos. Sam and Jolinar walked to the center of the room and called for everyone's attention going over the plans one more time. After setting the ship into an orbit around Abydos, they left the few personnel that were now responsible for it behind, and the group made their way to an Alkesh. Teal'c would bring a second Alkesh from the other ship, and they would land near where Daniel pointed out what should be Kasuf's tent.

The Al'kesh's communications came alive and Teal'c could be heard, telling them, "Our unit is aboard the Alkesh and ready to deploy on your order, my Lord."

"Excellent. We shall go now. Opening the bay doors. We are away. Follow closely."

"I will do so, my Lord."

Standing beside Sam, Daniel watched the information come across in front of them. There were no ships presently on the planet's surface. He found himself holding his breath and forced himself to breathe. He quickly scanned the surface as visual contact was made.

"There! There, Sam, the large tent on the end over there. That should be Kasuf's."

"Good, there appears to be plenty of space to set both of the Al'kesh down very close to it. Let's do it."

Jolinar easily guided the ship to a place extremely close to the tent. People could be seen hurrying to get under cover. No one appeared to wish an audience with the System Lord, if it was he and if it was some other Lord, they did not want to know. _"Good. I hope they have enough sense to stay away," _Sam whispered to Jolinar. _"I hope the young boys don't attempt to fight us. I doubt they do, but one never knows. We've had incredible luck so far. I just hope it continues to hold." _

Jolinar chuckled, _"I agree, my Sam. We have been very fortunate."_ The Al'kesh softly set down upon the surface of Abydos. Jolinar took control and headed to the doors. Teal'c would meet them outside as they exited the ship. She signaled to the soldier at the controls and the doors slid open just as Teal'c and his smaller band of Jaffa reached the end of the ramp. Without so much as a word, they all turned and headed for the large tent that sat the nearest to them.

Teal'c and Jack entered first with their weapons drawn and ready. Teal'c demanded that the extra people present leave immediately. Kasuf stood frozen not knowing what to do. Why was this System Lord here? What did they want? He glanced over to Sha'uri where she stood stirring what would soon be their evening meal.

Sha'uri had a very good idea of why they had come. They were here for her and she knew that there was no way that she could fight them. It was still two months before the child was due. She could only hope that nothing terrible would happen to her or the child. Apophis would be furious; these Jaffa were from Heru'Ur one of his deadliest enemies. Pretending that she believed she was also to leave, she made her way toward the entrance only to be stopped by his First Prime. She was prodded toward her father and he pulled her against him.

Once Kasuf and Sha'uri were the only two people in the tent other than them, Teal'c signaled for Jolinar and Daniel to come forward. As she stepped between him and Jack, Teal'c said simply, "My Lord," giving no other information. It was obvious that this was not Heru'Ur, but a highly placed underling.

"What may we do for you, my Lord?" Kasuf's voice was unwavering, but there was fear in his eyes.

"Amaunet will come with us. Heru'Ur wishes to see her," Jolinar spoke loudly enough that anyone lingering nearby would be able to hear her. She did not believe that would happen as she had ordered the perimeter guarded and there were now Jaffa standing around the entire area.

Sha'uri shook her head helplessly and looked pleadingly at her father. It was clear that he, too, felt there was nothing that he could do, however at her pleading look, he made as if to step forward. "Do nothing foolish, Kasuf. Not everything is as it appears, nor do you know everything, yet. I have brought someone with whom you will wish to speak." Jolinar indicated that Jack and Teal'c should step back and allow Daniel to come forward.

He stepped in front of Kasuf, even though he wanted only to pull Sha'uri into his arms and reassure her that everything was fine. Throwing back the hood of his robes, Daniel bowed slightly and told the stunned man, "Good Father, I bring greetings from Earth. I have come for Sha'uri, to take her back there to safety. She is being hunted even as we speak and the next to find her will not be gentle or kind." He paused but quickly continued, as it appeared that they were about to answer him, "Speak very softly, for none but us must know where she has been taken. They will not give up searching, but none will look to the Tau'ri."

"Dan'yel?" Sha'uri gave a strangled sob as he pulled her into his arms at last.

"Yes, I promise you that it is me, Sha'uri. You will be safe; I swear to you that you will be safe now."

Jolinar gave control to Sam and Kasuf stepped back as her eyes glowed, but he relaxed slightly when he heard Sam's voice, "Kasuf, it's me, Samantha Carter. Yes, I have a Symbiote, but not a hostile one. I can give you no other information about that, and I am sorry. Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c, and our soldiers are just outside. Please listen carefully as our time is short. We can't afford to be caught here. You must remember what I am going to tell you, do you understand?"

He nodded as he continued to stare at her. "All right. This is what must happen. No one other than you must know who took Sha'uri. We will leave you proof that it was Heru'Ur and you must show it to Apophis or any other, well except Heru'Ur, that comes looking for her. It is imperative that only you know where she is being taken. As far as your people know, Heru'Ur took her. As far as any System Lords know, he took her. Should Heru'Ur come for her, you will tell him that Apophis came for her."

Turning from Sha'uri, Daniel added, "It's rather complicated, Kasuf, but we must take Sha'uri now. The Goa'uld within her sleeps, while she is with child, therefore, we can take her without fighting Amaunet."

Kasuf frowned, still not sure of what was happening, or what would happen to his daughter. "But what will happen to her, Dan'yel? She will be with you, yes?"

Daniel sighed and shook his head, telling both he and Sha'uri softly, "I will not lie to you. It will not all be pleasant. She will be interrogated and once the child is born, if we have not managed to extract the Goa'uld, then she will be put in a cell…a room where the Goa'uld cannot hurt anyone. We do know that it can be extracted; however we aren't in a position to have it done right away."

Kasuf's frown deepened. "You wish for information from her, so you will not release her right away. You will not be kind to her."

Daniel shook his head. "No, Kasuf. That is not true. As I said, it is complicated, but let us try to explain. Yes, we want the information, but that we will attain quickly and it is not the reason we will not remove the Goa'uld right away." He looked to Sam and watched as her eyes glowed.

Jolinar turned to Kasuf, explaining as much as she felt necessary to him, "My people know how to extract the Goa'uld. Unfortunately, I have no memory of where my people are now. They move often and I have lost some vital information concerning them and where they are. It is returning to me slowly, and as soon as I remember what I need to know, we will take her there and remove it, I promise you. I hope that it happens before Amaunet awakes, for then Sha'uri will not be parted from Daniel at all. However, I cannot promise you that I will regain what I need before the child is born, and we will not lie to you as to the consequences of that happening. Should the Goa'uld awaken, then she would have to be isolated to protect others from her. That is the worst that can happen, and we can still make her comfortable, even within a room. She will have what she needs…food, clothing, a bed, warmth…she will not be ill-treated even after Amaunet returns."

Her eyes glowed once more and Sam came forward assuring him, "She is telling the truth, Kasuf. We would not lie to you. Yes, some of the questioning could be uncomfortable, but she will not be harmed in any way, and we must hope that we can remove Amaunet before we have to take Sha'uri's freedom from her."

"Good Father, if you do not allow us to take her, then you are sentencing her to a life with Apophis and Amaunet. I believe our way is better," Daniel spoke softly but firmly.

"Sha'uri? What do you wish to do, my daughter?"

"I wish to go with them. I do not want to go back and be with Apophis or some other System Lord, if they should find me first. I will go with my Dan'yel."

Kasuf bowed his head and sighed. Once more, he was losing his daughter; however, he also realized that if she did not go with Dan'yel, he would lose her permanently to the demon inside her. He finally nodded his agreement, telling her, "Go. You are correct. You must become free of the demon, and Dan'yel is our only hope. Go quickly." Kasuf drew her into his arms and sighed once more before pushing her toward Dan'yel.

Daniel smiled at him slightly. "She will be well cared for, I promise you." He turned from Kasuf and asked Sha'uri, "Do you need to gather anything?"

Feeling increasingly nervous, Sha'uri shook her head, before answering, "No, I have nothing except the clothing I arrived in and I do not want them."

Sam felt some of the tension leave her. Looking to Daniel, she nodded once and then turned to Kasuf, reminding him, "Don't forget what we told you. It must be believed that Heru'Ur took her."

Kasuf bowed slightly, "It shall be as you say."

Jolinar came forward and signaled to Daniel to pull up his robe. Looking at Sha'uri, she told her, "Teal'c will carry you. You must pretend that you are unconscious otherwise; you would have to struggle against us. Being unconscious will prove much less tiring for both you and Teal'c."

Without so much as pausing she raised her voice, "Jaffa, Kree!" As they entered the tent, she told Teal'c, "Carry her. She is unconscious." Teal'c nodded and picked her up. Sha'uri immediately allowed her arms to become limp and her head to loll back onto Teal'c's shoulders. With a slight nod to Kasuf, they turned and left the tent. Upon reaching the Alkesh, Teal'c allowed Sha'uri to stand before leaving and entering the other ship.

Without any further discussion, they left Abydos behind. As they approached their respective ships, the bay doors opened and the Al'keshes landed gently. Jolinar immediately left. Taking the controls, she called to Teal'c, "Leave as soon as you are ready."

"That would be now." Teal'c opened a window and disappeared with Jolinar right behind him. However, just before entering it, she saw another mothership drop out of hyperspace. They had retrieved Sha'uri without a moment to spare.

Daniel and Sha'uri stood beside her. "That was almost too close. Another few seconds and we would have been in a fire fight."

"Without a doubt, Daniel. Without a doubt."

"Did you see who it was?"

"I believe it was Apophis. No doubt, he's been informed that Heru'Ur was getting close to finding her. Such a shame that he arrived too late to intercept him."

Daniel grinned. Damn, she was good. The cat was amongst the pigeons now. There were at least four System Lords that should be fully occupied for quite some time to come. He gave Sha'uri a gentle squeeze and smiled down at her. "Let's go catch some sleep. We have a long ride home." Sam smiled as they left.

* * *

"How is our Goa'uld doing, Dr. Fraiser?"

Janet Fraiser shook her head. "He's almost completely healed, General. Even though I've seen healing in Teal'c, it always amazes me to see it happen. When we first looked at him, I would have almost sworn he wouldn't make it. Now, I don't think there will even be scars."

General Hammond nodded. "How has he responded to everything? How aggressive has he been?"

"He hasn't been aggressive at all, but he won't answer any questions. We haven't had to restrain him, although the guards are always there. The only thing he has done is ask where he is and which System Lord is in charge. I've told him that there is no System Lord on this world, but I haven't told him where he is. I swear no one told him anything, but somehow he figured it out. Either he is very intelligent, or he overheard someone talking, although, I made it very clear to my staff that we weren't to discuss anything around him, so I assume he is just that intelligent."

"Well, no one ever said that the Goa'uld were stupid. Arrogant as hell, yes, but not stupid. So where is it that he believes he is?"

"The only thing he said about it was when I told him there were no System Lords ruling here. Then he kind of sighed in a resigned way and said, 'This must be the world of the Tau'ri, then. Very well.' After that the only things he has said are good morning, good night, and thank you. Oh, and he requested to use the shower, which we allowed, since there didn't really seem to be a reason not to. He is in BDU's and sitting by his bed. He can be transferred to a cell if that's what you are going to do."

General Hammond nodded, "Thank you, Dr. Fraiser. Yes, we'll transfer him to a holding cell now that you've given the all clear about his health. I notified the President and asked him to wait until Captain Carter and Jolinar return before Maybourne is notified. I'm hoping that Jolinar can identify him and tell us a little bit about him. Unfortunately, I found out that the three of us, that is myself, Colonel O'Neill, and Captain Carter are required to be in Washington the day after tomorrow, assuming they've returned. Her meeting with him will have to be postponed until we return. The President agreed to wait until after she gets a chance to talk with him.

"_Have you any ideas as to what we should do? It is obvious that we will not be able to leave this facility until we answer their questions…which is impossible to do since we are not Goa'uld. If we wish to leave, we may have to explain who and what we are." _

"_No. We will tell them nothing. While I do not believe they are enemies, neither do I believe that we should tell them about us. It is my belief that whether we are Goa'uld or not, the fact that I am a symbiote will ensure that we are interrogated and perhaps even experimented upon, regardless what we tell them. They will see no difference between us and the Goa'uld. They will not trust us, nor will they lose this chance to find out more about us. Fortunately, I do not believe that they have the technology to enter our minds although they may have drugs that will attempt to loosen our tongues. If the drugs used so far are an indication, I should be able to neutralize anything they give to us. Assuming they do not put me to sleep first. Should they have a drug that affects the symbiote, but not the host, it would be most unfortunate. However, I do not think that they do. If one of us is put into a sleep state, the other shall be as well." _

"_That, at least, is good to know. They do not appear to be oppressive in their incarceration methods, although I will reserve judgment about their interrogation techniques for now." _

"_Yes, caution is probably best. I heard someone mention a 'Captain Carter' and that he would be the one to question us. It seems that he is away on a mission at the moment, and so, for now anyway, it seems we are being left alone." _

His host gave a noncommittal grunt in answer. _ "I suppose that is a good thing, although we may die of boredom before he returns." _

"_At least the food is edible and plentiful. As cells and captors go this is probably the best we have ever encountered in our many sojourns in such places. There are no gareevles in the bread and there is sufficient water and even facilities. Almost luxurious in comparison to say, Apophis's dungeons." _

A laugh greeted his last statement. _ "I must agree. I suppose a lack of anything to do is better than simply lying still, while you once more heal the results of the last session of torture. I will attempt to be more grateful." _

"_And so you should be. And if worse comes to worst, we will simply sleep most of the time." _

"_I think that is an excellent idea. After all, there are not even blocks or tiles to count. I suppose we could sing to one another or recite poetry, but neither appeal at the moment."_

"_Too true. Let us nap. Perhaps our dreams will give us a solution to our dilemma. One can always hope." _

"_All right, Lantash. I will wish you pleasant and constructive dreams." _

"_The same to you, Martouf." _Martouf laid back on the 'bunk' and put his hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. No doubt, Lantash was correct. They might as well rest up for whatever lay ahead of them. And it _would_ pass the time.

* * *

Jolinar sat at the controls and watched the silver of hyperspace as they passed. In a few hours they would reach the Alpha site. She hoped that General Hammond had not forgotten to alert them to their possible arrival. So far, this mission had gone very well, and she did not want it to end up badly. She sighed. The General was very efficient. She really should not worry about such things, as there was really little doubt but that he had taken care of it.

Recognizing the approaching footsteps, she asked quietly, "What can I do for you, Colonel O'Neill? Is there a problem?"

"No. No, problem. Everyone is asleep, but I'm not really tired yet. I think I dozed for a while, just enough to keep me awake now."

She nodded. "I know what you mean, Colonel. It is often difficult to sleep during a mission, even though one knows one needs to be rested to perform at their best. Luckily, we do not require anywhere near the amount of sleep that a human does, and can stay up for long periods if need be. Still after a while, lack of rest can impair our abilities as well."

O'Neill slid into the seat next to her and nodded. "We're trained to sleep anywhere, anytime, but sometimes that just isn't possible." He paused for a moment before clearing his throat and adding, "That's not the reason I came over, though, and the mission isn't what is keeping me from sleeping." He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, as if to relieve some tension that was residing there, before looking back at her and giving a wry smile. "The truth is that I…I wanted to tell you that you and Carter did a great job with this mission. It went like clockwork. Not only did we get two motherships, Alkesh, and death gliders, we got Daniel's wife back. Thank you for that, for all of it."

"You are welcome, Colonel. As for the ease of the mission, the truth is that we were very close to failing at least twice. The first was when I forgot I would need the passwords in order to access the ships. He could well have refused to allow us access until he contacted Cronus. When Sam mentioned that he was looking at me strangely and seemed to be expecting something, it reminded me. You must thank her for noticing and telling me. The second was our rescue of Sha'uri. Apophis's dropping out of hyperspace just as we entered it showed us just how close to being caught we were. Another thirty seconds on the surface and we would have found ourselves in a battle with Apophis. That is not something I wished to face with a ship that had yet to be battled tested."

"Yeah, looking back at it like that I guess we did just kind of squeak by, but you know what they say, "A miss is as good as a mile"."

"Very true, Colonel. I am just thankful that we managed to make it out before he realized what had occurred. If we are lucky, he did not get much of a glimpse of us and since we have no outward markings, it would be difficult to trace to anyone. No doubt, he now believes that it was Heru'Ur, and that is a very good thing. That he came so close to preventing Sha'uri's 'abduction' will anger him very much further. I will watch with great interest to see what develops."

O'Neill grinned at her, stating, "I'm kind of looking forward to watching what happens, too. If we're lucky, it will be enough to keep them occupied for a long time."

She watched as he yawned, and when he looked at her, she told him, "You should attempt to sleep again, Colonel O'Neill. We will arrive at the Alpha site within the next three hours. You have time for another nap."

He nodded. "Yeah, maybe you're right." Standing, he stretched and yawned again. "See you in a couple of hours, then."

"Sleep well, Colonel. I will rouse everyone in two and a half hours. That will leave you thirty minutes before we arrive."

"Sounds good to me. See you then."

She gave him a smile and turned back to focus once again on her controls. There was nothing to do; however, it was best if someone continued to check for any problems. Soon, they would be back at the SGC. She was actually looking forward to it. Even though she often missed the soothing blues of the tunnels, Earth was becoming her home. She was glad for the more content she was the more peaceful her Samantha would feel. Yes, it would be good to get home.

TBC


	11. Joy and Sorrow Ch 11 AAOF

_**Chapter Eleven Summary: **A trip to Washington D.C. with the Colonel and General Hammond gives Sam a surprise that was joyous, a meeting with the President that went very well, and two unwelcome announcements from her dad, General Jacob Carter, one of which made her very unhappy. She is buffeted with emotions ranging from joy to deep sorrow. Colonel O'Neill also has some problems that have unhappy resolutions. _

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

_**Ashteki keshta - **Until we meet again, more formal … used between acquaintances and casual friends._

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Eleven**_

_**Joy and Sorrow**_

* * *

Sam gazed blearily at her alarm clock and sighed, before pushing the covers off and sitting up. She stretched, stood, and then stretched again, before heading for the shower. Ten minutes later, she was drying her hair and applying very light makeup. Finishing with those items, she returned to her bedroom and opened her closet. She pulled out her dress uniform and in another ten minutes, she was in the kitchenette enjoying a quick cup of coffee. Looking at her watch, she realized she still had about twenty minutes, before the Colonel stopped by to pick her up.

She sighed and rolled her shoulders. Just the thought of today was making her muscles tighten up. Well, maybe it wouldn't be all bad. At least, the President should be happy with them, when they had their meeting with him.

"_Why are you so tense, my Sam? Is the idea of talking to your president so very intimidating? Do not forget that I will be with you, and he will ask no question about the Tok'Ra that I cannot answer. We will be fine, I assure you." _

Sam smiled at her, saying, "_I know, Jolinar, but it's still a little nerve racking. We don't know if it's a meeting between just us, or if there will be others there, and I know that if he has others there, we won't be able to really talk openly with him. It just makes me a little nervous. I suppose getting this medal is a little bit nerve racking, too. I'm not looking forward to it, and if we are lucky something will happen to cause it to be postponed or turned over to General Hammond to give to the Colonel and us." _

"_I understand. I will not let you down. You will neither trip nor sweat and your voice will be fine, as well. We will be fine." _

"_Thanks, Jol." _She heard a knock on the door, and knew the General and the Colonel had arrived to get her. She put her coffee cup in the sink, after rinsing it, made sure the coffee pot was off, grabbed her overnight bag and her purse, took a deep calming breath, and opened the door.

"Colonel, General, We're all set to go." Jolinar increased the substances that brought calm, and she was able to greet the two men showing no hint of her former anxiety.

* * *

It seemed as if they had no more than entered the plane, before they were landing in D.C. and getting back off. O'Neill and Sam had settled in and were talking, as they walked toward the building where the upcoming ceremony was to be held. The Colonel glanced over at his second in command, and commented wryly, "You know, I can navigate myself across a galaxy, but I get lost every time I come to Washington. It can't be that difficult, so I think I've put a mental block up, when it comes to this town. I don't want to become familiar enough with it that I can get around in it without getting lost," he finished explaining with a wide grin and a short laugh.

Laughing with him, she assured him, "Don't worry, Sir, these are my old stomping grounds. I think I can still find my way around."

"Old stomping grounds, huh? Gee, Carter, I'm sorry to hear that. You have my heartfelt condolences."

She chuckled and shook her head at him, before answering, "Oh, I don't know; it wasn't so bad. Two years at the Pentagon trying to make the Stargate program a reality; I'd say it was time well spent, considering."

O'Neill sent her another cheerful grin, along with a laconic, "Ya think?"

They continued in a companionable silence, until they entered the reception room. Looking around, Sam turned to him saying, "I see General Hammond's already doing the rounds."

"Oh yeah. He's a player, and a good one. He knows how to work a room; I've seen him do it many times. Would you like some Punch?"

"Yes, Sir, thanks. That actually sounds really good." She gazed around, as she waited for the Colonel, but before he returned with their refreshments, General Hammond saw her. He motioned her over, and she smiled at him, as she went to join him. The Colonel wouldn't find it too hard to find her, she was sure. The General that was standing and talking to General Hammond turned around and faced her, as she walked up to them. She stopped and gazed at him, her surprise obvious, as she murmured, "Dad."

Her dad smiled at her as they embraced.

"I invited Jake myself, Captain. I thought you might enjoy the surprise." General Hammond smiled at her, as he told her of his manipulation.

"I do. Really, Sir. That's sweet."

Jacob Carter grinned, "As you know, George and I served together back when the Air Force really was this country's first line of defense."

"I think it still is, Dad." Sam grimaced to herself, as she thought about the new threats they faced of which her father wasn't even aware.

"Of course, it is. I was talking about when the Cold War was still, uh…Anyway, when George told me you were up for the Air Medal for your work in," he glanced over at the General, "what the hell was that again, George? Um…"

Sam smiled wryly, knowing he was just being facetious, before answering him herself, "Analysis of deep space radar telemetry."

Jacob nodded, as he replied, "Oh, yeah…Right."

Colonel O'Neill thanked the man for the punch, and walked back toward Carter, watching her talk to General Hammond and another General. Stopping by her, he handed her one of the glasses of punch, saying, "Carter? Here you go."

She took it quickly, as she answered, "Thank you, Sir."

Realizing that the Colonel didn't know the General, General Hammond introduced them, saying briefly, "Colonel Jack O'Neill, Jacob Carter."

The Colonel raised an eyebrow and looked back and forth between Sam and General Carter. "Carter? As in?"

Sam grinned at him, saying, "As in, my father, Sir, yes."

"Get outta town. Sam's Dad? I've heard nothing about you, Sir," he told him, while casting Sam a 'why didn't you tell me' look.

Jacob shrugged, asking, "What's there to say about an old general waiting to retire? Can't be a lot."

Sam sighed. "Dad, I talk about you all the time." She gave him a mischievous look, adding, "Of course, I tend to call you my dad, not General Carter. That might have something to do with it."

Looking somewhat pensive, Jack murmured, "I retired myself one time." Then he perked up adding, "But, I just couldn't stay away."

Jacob sent him a disbelieving look, stating, "From your analysis of deep space radar telemetry."

Jack sent him a look full of laughter, knowing that Jacob Carter wouldn't anymore believe him, than he would that there was a man in the moon. Still, he answered him, "Well, it's just so damn fascinating."

Jacob stared back at him, saying, "I'm sure it is. Otherwise you wouldn't be receiving the Air Medal."

Knowing he didn't believe him and seeing it in his eyes were two different things, so he decided to cut his losses and replied, his voice even, "We have our moments. Um, will you excuse me? We just don't get out of Cheyenne Mountain enough, so I'm going to grab some air. Outside. General. Captain. General."

"On that note, I guess I'll go make the rounds. I'll talk to you both later." General Hammond made his way toward the next group of old friends to whom he wanted to speak.

Jacob turned to his daughter. "Just between us, your cover stories could use a little polish."

Sam looked at him doing her best imitation of a wall, "Sorry, Dad, I don't know what you're talking about."

Jacob Carter sighed, and then he apologized, "No, of course not, I'm out of line. But whatever it is you really analyze in that mountain, deep space, or no deep space, it can't be as exciting as the real thing. I'm talking about getting you into NASA, Sam. I'm talking about you actually going to space someday."

Sam looked away, but Jacob continued, "I made a call to Bollinger himself. Head of NASA?"

"I know," Sam answered quietly. She didn't like where this was going. One or both of them were going to end up hurt.

"I told him that you'd wanted to become an astronaut, since you were a little girl. And that you'd given up…"

"Dad, I didn't give up!"

"Let me finish. That you gave up waiting for the shuttle program to be reinstated, after the Challenger disaster."

"Yeah, it was bad timing."

"Yes, well. I called in a few markers. I filled them in on your qualifications. You apply again as an Air Force nominee, young lady, and I think you'll find NASA supportive."

"There's a waiting list a mile long."

"Not for you."

"Dad, you can't do that."

"I did."

She sighed, asking, "Without talking to me first?"

"You're telling me you don't want this? They know what you're capable of offering the Space Program, Samantha, they want you!"

"That's not the point! The work I am doing right now is very important to me."

"It's not your dream."

"Let's just leave it at that, please?"

"At least talk to them, then. Do that much for me."

She sighed again, saying, "I knew sooner or later you'd make this about you."

Jacob nodded, "All right."

Feeling guilty knowing that she hurt him, she told him, "Dad, it's not that I don't appreciate it…"

"I said "all right". I'll catch up with you after the ceremony."

Sighing, as her father left the reception, Sam wondered where the Colonel was. Maybe she could find him and join him in a drink. Or not. Seeing another approaching member of the top brass heading her way, she pasted a smile on her face and greeted him. It was going to be a longer day than she thought it was.

Jack O'Neill headed back to the reception, cursing both himself and the reporter with whom he'd just had a very unpleasant run-in. This was really, really not good. He had to find Hammond and the sooner the better. He entered the room and spied him almost immediately. Catching Sam's eye, he indicated she should join him.

As Jack neared him, he could hear him, as he told the Colonel he was talking with, "He's got great hands. He can really snap the jab. He was getting off all nine, so he cut in with three good ones, then he feinted with his right, came in with a left hook and right cross and the guy was down."

Wasting no time, he stepped up to him, and interrupted, with no remorse for being rude, "General, a moment please?"

General Hammond shot him a quick look and turned to the other Colonel saying, "Excuse me." Turning to O'Neill, they walked off a way toward a common area where it was very much less likely they would be overheard.

Sam joined them, wondering what was going on.

Jack cut right to the crux of the problem with no preliminaries, telling him,

"We've got a problem, Sir. We've sprung a leak. Apparently, someone with knowledge of the program talked to a reporter."

"This reporter approached you?"

"Yes, Sir."

"And you said?"

"Denied everything. He didn't buy it."

"Well, how much does he know?"

"Well, if he knows me, and he knows Carter—he knew how to find us here—a lot."

"Then you're right. We've got a problem." The General led them to an empty room, and O'Neill shut the door. They moved to an exterior wall and continued their discussion.

Sam asked him, "Say he runs this story—how bad can it get?"

General Hammond grimaced. "Bad. The domestic repercussions alone. Half the government would want to bury it; the other half would want a piece of it. After that, the international fallout, when Russia and China find out we've been keeping it from them…"

Sam nodded as she listened to him, and added, "Proof of the existence of aliens. Hundreds of other worlds populated by ancient human cultures."

Jack frowned, "I don't see the problem."

It was Sam's turn to frown. "I can't help but wonder who the source could be."

"Any one of hundreds of people, Captain," O'Neill assured her.

Sam shook her head. "I have a hard time believing it's one of ours. Every member of the SGC knows how important our work is."

General Hammond nodded. "I agree with Captain Carter. It's much more likely political."

Sam sent him a look, and asked, "Senator Kinsey?"

Jack snorted. "Well if he knows, at least a dozen sycophants know."

Hammond looked thoughtful, saying, "Civilians sign non-disclosure statements. Technically, that makes them liable to prosecution under the Espionage Act."

Jack turned to him at his sarcastic best, saying, "So what do we do? Sue 'em?"

Hammond sighed, but he agreed, so he couldn't say much. "There's still some time before the ceremony, Colonel. I'd like to know how much he knows, before he goes to print. Do you know how to find him?"

Jack nodded. "I'll let him find me."

"Good. Report back as soon as you know."

"Yes, Sir."

* * *

Jack walked back toward the reception area. The reporter, Selig, had found him just as he had suspected. And, as he suspected, he knew way too much. He decided to try to stop him one more time, so he turned to the man that still walked beside him, saying, "Selig, let me do you a favor. You don't know anything. Don't embarrass yourself."

"I know that those two brilliant flashes in the night sky a few months ago were really alien ships on their way to attack Earth. You blew them up."

"I did? All right!" Jack sighed realizing the man wouldn't give up on his story. "If you're going to go ahead with it, I wanna make sure you get one thing right. It's O'Neill, with two Ls. There's another Colonel O'Neil with only one L, he has no sense of humor, at all." With that, he put his sunglasses up and turned to walk away.

The reporter refused to give up, telling him, "The story's going to run, Colonel."

"It'll read like science fiction, Selig.

"This country has no official Secrets Act."

"I know that."

"You can't stop me."

"I know that, too."

"You don't think anyone will believe it."

"I'm sure someone will. But it's not me."

As he turned to walk away, Selig told him, "We'll see."

He turned back for just a moment, asking, "That's two Ls, right?"

Jack O'Neill was annoyed and just shook his head, as he once more turned to go into the building. The sound of tires squealing caught his attention, and he turned to look. Armin Selig had turned back to the street and, as he stepped out a car hit him and drove off at high speed.

O'Neill rushed over to him and yelled at someone to call 911, before turning to Selig, saying, "Don't move. Don't try to move."

Selig looked up at him, and whispered, "You did this."

Jack shook his head. "No. We didn't do this."

Selig moaned. "Son of a bi…"

After the reporter died, Jack laid his head back down and looked at his bloody hands. He, too, believed that the man had been murdered.

* * *

Sam decided to find her dad, before she and Jolinar went to talk to the President, and she found him in an empty room staring out of a window. "Dad? I've been looking all over for you."

He turned to his daughter, saying, "You must be disappointed. Any idea why the President cancelled?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Colonel O'Neill witnessed an accident. The President couldn't adjust his schedule. Bad timing all around. General Hammond's going to present us with our medals at a private ceremony back at the base."

"Well, it's the honor that matters, whether I can be there or not."

"Dad…"

Jacob interrupted her, before she could say anything else, telling her, "I have cancer, Sam."

Sam stared at him. "What?"

"Lymphoma."

"That's bad."

Jacob smiled. "Well, it's not good. But, it's not the worst. Don't you worry. I'll be around for a while."

"Oh God, Dad!"

"I was hoping to stick around long enough to see you become an astronaut."

Sam shook her head.

"Sweetheart, I don't care what it is you do in that mountain; nothing in the world can live up to the chance of actually going to space. Not for you. It's something you've wanted your whole life. And I admit it; I want to see you fulfill your life's dreams, before I die."

"It's my dream. Doesn't that make it up to me?"

"Fathers have dreams, too."

Looking at him sadly, she whispered, "Sorry, I can't…"

"All right." He turned away from her and grabbed his overcoat from a chair. "Like I said, this thing's going to go on for months, so you don't have to check up on me tomorrow."

"Dad, please don't go like this…"

"Congratulations on the medal. I'm sure you deserve it."

As he walked away, Sam tried once more. "Dad!" But, he didn't turn around, and she turned back to the window, as she started to cry.

"_My Sam, he will not stay away from you. He loves you greatly. He will not want this to stand between you."_ Jolinar paused, before saying softly, _"If this is not something that will cause his death right away, there is a chance that we could offer him hope. A Tok'Ra could heal him, and though he would then be one of us, at least he would still live, perhaps for a very long time." _

Sam's tears dried, as she listened to her Lifemate. She thought about the option. _ "We have to talk to the President first, Jolinar. And we couldn't say anything, unless we knew there was a need for a host." _

"_That is true. So, the first thing we must do is attend the meeting with the President. We are due there soon, yes?" _

Sam smiled at her. "_Yes. Yes, we are. I'm glad that the Colonel and General Hammond agreed to accompany us, even if they won't allow them to sit in on the meeting. Of course, we don't know that they won't for sure, yet._"

"_I am glad for your sake. Now, come, we must go." _

"_All right."_

* * *

"General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill, Captain Carter, the President will see you now."

"Thank you," General Hammond gave the woman a smile as she opened the door for them.

As the three entered the room, the President stood and made his way toward them. His smile was wide, and his greeting was warm, "General, Colonel, Captain, and Jolinar, it is a very great pleasure to welcome you to the White House."

As they each murmured replies, he indicated that they should make themselves comfortable. As they sat down, an aide brought them some drinks and then left. Sam glanced around. There was no one else present, but she was sure there was surveillance. That could prove a problem she supposed.

The President took the initiative and started the conversation, "Captain, George has kept me apprised, of what has occurred, so you won't need to go through the entire ordeal with me. I think we're past that. I would like to speak to Jolinar, in a moment, but first allow me to ask you how you feel, now that you've been together for a while?"

Sam looked him in the eyes, as she answered, so he would know that she meant every word she said, "Surprisingly, Mr. President, I'm enjoying it. In fact, if something happened to Jolinar, and we were parted, I would miss her a great deal. It truly is a symbiotic relationship, and we've found that we work well together. I'm very pleased with the way things are going; I'm happy and content to have it this way."

He nodded. "I'm glad to hear that. It puts my mind at rest, as well." He leaned forward, and took a drink of his water, before returning it to the table.

"So, I understand that the Air Force is now in possession of a Goa'uld mothership, as well as the shipwright who was in charge of building it. And, I mustn't forget the other ships that came with it. George mentioned that there were two of the spaceships, but that we get only one, which I can't complain of, but I can't help but wonder what the other one is for."

"I'll let Jolinar explain, Mr. President."

He nodded, and then watched, as Sam's eyes glowed. He couldn't control the slight jerk back from her, but after glancing at the Colonel and General and seeing their unconcern, he relaxed as well. Still, that had been…freaky.

"I plan to use it as a bargaining chip with the Tok'Ra. You must understand that the Tok'Ra have worked in secret using stealth and infiltration for two thousand years. Getting them to accept you, as an active ally, will not be easy; therefore, the more pressure I can bring to bear on them the better. Then too, by using the ship, you will be bearing a gift, as well as a request. Should they ally with the SGC, and the United States, they will gain a mothership and access to the shipwright. That will be one plus on the side of becoming allies."

"You actually have several things in your favor already. Ra being a main one, since he is the one that killed our Queen."

"Ah, I'm not sure I quite understand that, Jolinar. Could you explain what you mean?"

"Our Queen, Egeria, was a consort of Ra's. When she broke from the System Lords and their ways, he had her hunted down and was responsible for her death. For the last two thousand years, the Tok'Ra have despised and loathed him. Long have we wanted to see his end. That you disposed of him will be another plus for an alliance. It will not be overlooked."

"Whether or not those two things will be enough, I do not know. You must understand that you have little to offer the Tok'Ra. Your technology is less advanced than ours is, so there is nothing there that you can offer to us. We do not fight in an overt way; therefore, we have a difference in methods. They will not approve of your way, simply because you could so easily cause an imbalance of power within the remaining System Lords. If that should happen, one of them could ascend to the position of Supreme System Lord, a thing that should be avoided, if at all possible. They will see you as reckless and brash, just as you will see them as too conservative and unwilling to fight overtly."

"I know that it will be difficult, but there are several things which you must come to understand about the Tok'Ra and one of those things is that they cannot fight in an overt manner. We are too few and without a Queen, we are a dying race. We cannot afford to put our people into active battle situations, if we do not have to. I am willing to become a frontline soldier simply because I see the need for both. Eventually, they may also see that it is necessary."

"Changing two thousand years of behavior will not happen quickly; however, I will continue to work toward an alliance, since I intend to remain at the SGC indefinitely. It is my belief that with time and effort, we will be able to bring them to the point of an alliance. I do have a fair amount of influence within the Tok'Ra, for I am not a child of Egeria's, but an ally. I fought beside her for her cause, and in doing so, I lost my armies and my holdings. I would do it all again, and, in fact, I am continuing by the simple fact of remaining Tok'Ra and helping them, as much as I can. While they do not always agree with me at first, they do listen eventually. Therefore, I have confidence that eventually there will be an alliance. I simply cannot assure you of when it will happen."

Jolinar paused for a moment before finally broaching the remaining subject. Then with Sam's encouragement from within, she told him, "There is only one other thing that would weigh heavily with them, and it will be a…subject which will bring up unpleasant connotations, I am sure."

The President looked a little puzzled for a moment, before saying calmly, "You are speaking of hosts." He sighed. "What you say is true. That might be a rather large obstacle to overcome. Do you have any suggestions or ideas about that?"

Jolinar smiled slightly. "Yes, actually, we do. Samantha and I have given this a great deal of thought." She paused before continuing, "There is a section of your population, who might not be as opposed to sharing their bodies, as some others might. I am speaking of the ill and the injured. A Symbiote can cure most diseases. Given time, they can repair many injuries. We, that is, Sam and I, have considered this, as it would then be a give and take situation. We would give healing; your people would give aid, as a Tok'Ra."

The President nodded for her to continue, so she told him, "You have many injured soldiers. Those who are paralyzed or have other severe problems." She frowned. "Growing new limbs is not beyond us; however it does take quite a long time. Of course, their new life expectancy could range up to four or five hundred years depending on their own age at the time of blending, so that wouldn't really be a problem for them, only for us, as we need our people. Those types of injuries would have to be discussed with the council. Spinal injuries however, would not be difficult to repair, although there might be some rehabilitation."

She took a deep breath before bringing Sam's father up. "I would like to offer a symbiote to Samantha's father. He is dying of cancer and probably does not have much time. I would like your permission to do that."

The president stared at her. "You can cure cancer?"

"Usually. It depends on how near death the person is, and how strong the symbiote is."

The President sat quietly contemplating the things she told him. Allowing soldiers to walk again. That was something they should consider. As for her request about Captain Carter's father, how could he refuse? They just brought them a brand new spaceship. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound, as they say.

"Very well. The Captain's father has clearance. As for the other, I'd like to think about it, but I do like the suggestion of the soldiers. I have a question there though. What about their families? How would that be handled?"

"What you choose to tell or not to tell your people would be up to you. I think that it would be very uncomfortable for the families, if their family member simply disappeared. However, you also have the non-aging issue. I would think that one would at least consider telling the wife and/or parents. Who knows? Once their children are grown, the wife might choose to join their mate, and become Tok'Ra as well. That is for the future, and many things must be decided, before we come to that point in time."

"Their families would need to be very carefully screened. While I hate to put limits on those we would help, I realize that you cannot afford to offer this to a soldier whose family would be on the phone to your news agencies, as soon as they found out about it. Much discretion should be used, for in your world, the spreading of such information could have dire affects."

The President was nodding, as he saw the logic of her comments. "Yes, that is true." He nodded again, as if to emphasize something to himself, and then told her, "I'll see how we want to do things. When you make contact with your people again, and we see what happens, we can put any plans we make into action." He paused for a moment, before hesitantly asking, "How…how many symbiotes are there that will eventually need new hosts? And while I'm thinking about it, why do you need new hosts? Is it because of injuries that are too massive for the symbiote to save them? I was under the impression that the Goa'uld live for thousands of years, and that they keep their hosts. What causes the difference in the two of you? I mean, you are the same species, correct? I didn't misunderstand that?"

Jolinar smiled slightly at him, before answering, "We still number in the thousands. As for the need for hosts, that is a simple explanation. We do not use the Sarcophagus. That is what keeps the human body from aging. Without its use, eventually the human body ages and dies. We feel that it is the Sarcophagus that has taken any good there is from the hearts of the Goa'uld; therefore, we will not use it."

He nodded his understanding. "I see. I'm glad to know that. Now, is there anything else you would like to ask of us? We will do what we can to help you."

Jolinar bowed her head. "I thank you. There is one more thing for which I wish. There are four Al'kesh aboard the ships. I would like one to be available to me; therefore, I wish to put it on the mountain. It would be cloaked, so no one would know it was there."

The President looked stunned for a moment before saying, rather blankly, "You want to keep an Al'kesh at Cheyenne Mountain?"

She nodded. "Yes, definitely. The Chaappa'ai is not always the most practical way to accomplish something. Nor would it be out of your reach should it be needed. It would be available to all of us; I simply wish it to be kept near to where I am, so that I will have quick and easy access to it."

He finally nodded his agreement. "I guess I can't really complain. We get the mothership and the builder. All right, you can park it at the mountain."

"Thank you, Mr. President. I will keep you informed through General Hammond of our progress with the Tok'Ra."

"I wish to thank you, Jolinar. You have done more than most would have for us."

"You are most welcome. Samantha saved my life. What little I have done is small recompense for that." After giving him another small smile, something the symbiote was not used to doing, she said, "If there is nothing else we need to discuss, I will return you to my Sam. Do you have anything else you wish to ask me?"

The President shook his head, and smiled at her in return. "No, Jolinar, not right now. I'm sure I'll have all kinds of questions later, and if I need to talk to you again, I'll get in contact with you through George, if that is acceptable?"

"Certainly, Mr. President. That is quite acceptable with both of us. I will wish you farewell. _Ashteki keshta,__until we meet again_."

He watched, fascinated as her eyes glowed once more and Captain Carter smiled at him. It didn't seem so freaky, now that he'd talked to her and found her to be so…well…sort of normal. There was no doubt at all that they were two different entities, too, and that helped. The smile he was receiving now, her eyes, the way she held her head were all different from when he had talked to Jolinar. He wished he had more time to spend with them; unfortunately, he didn't.

He was brought out of his contemplations by that thought, and he turned to the General, saying, "Well, I guess it's time, George."

General Hammond smiled back. "Yes it is." He stood and walked to a large table at the end of the room on which a wooden tray lay. Picking it up, he brought it back and the President stood.

Turning from the General, he spoke, "Colonel O'Neill, if you and the Captain would stand please."

Walking over to them, the president reached for one of the medals on the tray, saying, "Colonel Jack O'Neill, Captain Samantha Carter, you have distinguished yourselves by heroism involving voluntary risk of life." After pinning on the medal, he saluted the Colonel, and then moved on to Sam.

"Against impossible odds, with only the help of your team members Teal'c and Dr. Daniel Jackson, you destroyed both Goa'uld spacecraft that were poised to attack this world. Your exemplary courage and heroism reflect great credit upon yourselves and the United States Air Force. Although our people do not know what you have done for them, I can assure you that you would have their heartfelt thanks, and that someday, you will have it. As for all of us who are aware of what the four of you accomplished that night, believe me, when I say that every one of us is more grateful than we can ever express to you. As for myself, I cannot begin to express to you how proud and how very honored I am to be the one to give these medals to you both."

He finished pinning the medal on Sam and then turned back to the tray and took something else from it. Still standing in front of Sam, he told her, "Captain Carter, it is with great honor, pride, and the upmost pleasure that I am the one who pins your new designation onto your uniform. Congratulations, Major Carter." He saluted her and then breaking the solemn mood, he held up his hand, and splayed his fingers, adding, "Live long and prosper." He grinned. "I'm sorry; I just had to say it."

As Sam laughed, she told Jolinar, _"Never mind. Look through my memories for old TV shows or I'll explain later." _

Then he shook her hand, becoming solemn again. "I do wish you and Jolinar the best, and I am truly, honestly, honored to be the one to give you your new rank. I hope to talk to you both again, soon."

"Thank you, Mr. President. We will look forward to it, and we thank you, for all you have done for us. I'm honored to have had you award me both the medal and my new rank."

The General and the Colonel shook hands with her, and the General put his arm around her shoulders, as he told her, "Congratulations, Major. I'm very proud of you, of both of you, as well as Dr. Jackson and Teal'c, and what you have accomplished."

"Thank you, Sirs. Thank you very much."

Before General Hammond could start them toward the door, the President looked at both of them and announced one more thing, "There is one more thing that I want to be the one to tell you. It's classified information and cannot leave this room. I know that both of you felt that Dr. Jackson and Teal'c deserved to be honored as much as you two did. I happen to agree with you, and before I even knew how the two of you felt about it, I made the decision to do something about it. I've also felt, for quite some time, that there should be some type of acknowledgment of those who have died in the fight against the Goa'uld. Because of the classified nature of their deaths, it can't be acknowledged to the public. Not yet; however, the day will come when they will be honored.

In the meantime, I've instructed George to consider and then decide where we will place this. I want an area where all of their names can be displayed. As for the remainder of the area, I'd like for the five of you, SG-1, to decide on what you want in it, and how you want it to look. I want you to collaborate and design the area, if you would do so. Sam looked at the Colonel and realized that he was just as surprised and pleased as she was. They exchanged a glance, and then a smile; O'Neill answered, "We'd be honored to do that, Mr. President. Thank you."

He nodded, but held up his hand to stop them, saying, "I'm writing an executive order establishing a new medal. It is to be given to aliens and civilians who have put their lives on the line, not only for this country, but also for this world. I have approximately twenty-five artists rendering designs. They've been told that it's for civilians and foreigners who have done heroic and dangerous things for this country and the world. They have committed acts of selflessness and courage, which will go un-praised and unacknowledged, perhaps for many years to come, except by those in the government who have clearance, and by those who were involved. They should have their ideas finished within the week and I'll be sending them to George and to you. The first two of these will be awarded to Dr. Jackson and Teal'c. I agree with you that the two of them deserve to be honored. They will be awarded to them at the SGC, by General Hammond and myself. I hope you approve."

'Yes, Sir, I think I speak for the Major and I both, when I tell you that we're delighted."

While the President beamed at the two of them, George Hammond glanced at the clock and stepped forward, saying, "Well, I believe that the President has another meeting scheduled, so we will be on our way. We have some things to do, when we return to the SGC."

The President shook hands with each of them in turn, and then looking to the General, he assured him, "I'm going to make it to the mountain, George. I will be the one handing out those medals. I've got to see this thing in person. After all, I'm the one that gets the final say on some of the things pertaining to it, the least I can do is know from actually seeing it, what it looks like."

"You know that you are welcome anytime." The General smiled at him. "We'll look forward to seeing you."

Their good-byes said, he walked them to the door and ushered them out. He had a lot to think about, and some serious decisions to make. He sighed, as he realized now was not the time. George had been telling the truth. He had another damn meeting, and he was fairly sure it wasn't going to be nearly as exciting or entertaining, as the one he just had.

* * *

"Well, Major…how's it feel?"

Sam laughed. "It feels great, Sir. I certainly wasn't expecting it."

"The President wanted to do it, Major. He asked me if I thought it would be appropriate, when we talked after you and Jolinar blended. I told him it definitely was. You were due for a promotion; he just received the enjoyment of being the one to give it to you."

"Thank you, General. I appreciate your support and confidence in me."

"You are most welcome, Major."

Waving down a cab, they gave the address of where they were staying. They would leave in the morning. Once they arrived, the General looked at the

Colonel. "Jack, if I could see you a moment?"

"Of course, General."

"We'll stop by and get you so we can go out and eat later, Major, if that is all right with you? Did you have any plans of your own?"

"That will be fine, General. What time should I be ready?"

"How about seven? Is that all right with you?"

"Yes, that's fine, Sir." She looked at her watch and was surprised to see that it was still only mid-afternoon. Looking up, she smiled at him and said, "In fact, that leaves time for a short nap and a leisurely bath. I'll see you both then."

Stopping at the Colonel's room, he opened the door and they stepped in. "What did you wish to see me about, General?"

The General sighed. He knew that Colonel O'Neill was upset about the accident. There wasn't much he could do but he had to try. "It was an accident, Jack. There was nothing you could have done."

Jack O'Neill's lips tightened and he looked down, obviously disheartened.

"Yes, Sir."

The General sighed again. "Jack. I'm telling you the truth. I didn't tell anyone, and I am very sure that Cap—er, Major Carter didn't either. I know for a fact that she was looking for her father."

Jack looked up at him, saying, "You didn't?"

"No. I didn't. So…unless you consider me capable of arranging something like that…"

Jack sighed. "No, Sir, I don't. It's just that it seemed damned convenient and he accused us, as he died. It was…unsettling." His understatement never ceased to amuse the General and did so now, even in this serious a conversation. However, Jack wasn't finished with his comments. "General…what if someone overheard us talking and they did tell someone?" He frowned, thinking. "It almost would have had to have been after the first conversation, though, wouldn't it?"

The General nodded in agreement. He wasn't about to tell the man that he'd already figured that out. He told him gently, "While it appeared convenient, it would have been almost impossible to have arranged it even before you two parted. As for it being the first conversation you had...I just don't know, but it still doesn't seem plausible." He paused before adding, "You know, Jack, this man was a reporter. We don't know what else he's exposed. It could very well be that someone else wanted him dead. I don't think that can be ruled out."

Colonel Jack O'Neill felt his shoulders relax. He gave the General a brief smile.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, General. It would have been pretty darn quick for that to be arranged, and the first conversation wasn't all that long. They might have set someone on him to watch him, but…that's not arranging an assassination. Thank you, General."

"You're welcome, Jack." He headed toward the door and after opening it, he stated, "Decide what you want to eat. I'll stop by for you first, since you are closest to my room. Will that suit you?"

Jack gave him a real smile this time. "Yes, Sir. I'll be ready."

The General nodded once more. "Later, Jack." Shutting the door, he walked to his own room, his smile gone. He wished it was as easy to convince himself that it was an accident. Well, no point in wasting time thinking about it. There was nothing he could do about it, and he had his own worries about which to think. Like a Goa'uld in a holding cell who wouldn't even tell them his name. For some reason that he didn't understand, he truly didn't want to see him end up in Maybourne's hands. He supposed he was reluctant because the man didn't act like a Goa'uld in any way at all. Not one of his actions so far pointed to him being Goa'uld, which led him to believe that it was very possible that Jolinar would know him. He really, really hoped that Jolinar could identify him and do the interrogation. He was fairly sure that if he asked the President, he would keep Maybourne away for a while longer than he already was, even if he couldn't keep him away indefinitely.

As far as he knew, neither the Major nor Jolinar knew about him being a prisoner. SG-1 and their support personnel hadn't returned until late last evening. Jolinar had decided to make a short detour to a place where she had another informant, and they had spent quite a bit of time with him, first convincing him that she really was Jolinar, and then getting all of his information. She had decided to go talk to him when she realized they were close to his world. He was an informant she had been unable to contact for a while, due to being on the run for the most part, although prior to that, several things had happened to keep her from attempting to contact him.

As it turned out, he had a lot of information for her and the Tok'Ra, and by extension, the SGC. None of it was bad in regard to either of them; however, it was detailed and would help them out in several areas, such as worlds that had come under Goa'uld rule, and so were no longer safe, among other sundry information. They'd made arrangements for her to check with him again in a couple of months unless something critical came up. Sam had suggested that if that happened he should go to the Land of the Light. It was one of the few worlds that could contact them by radio, since they set it up for Tupelo. So they gave him the address to that world and warned him not to stay within the forest, but to head to the town and ask for their leader, Tupelo. Once he knew who the man needed to contact, he would help him. He also now knew the phrase that would assure Tupelo that he needed to contact the Tau'ri with important information.

Jolinar was proving to be a rather large asset to the SGC and the country in general. Hell, to the entirety of Earth, for that matter. Tomorrow he would inform her of the Goa'uld in the holding cell and see what she knew of or about him. That decision made, he sat down at his laptop and proceeded to read through his email. No doubt, that would keep him occupied until it was time to dine. Tomorrow would, no doubt, take care of itself.

TBC


	12. A Feeling of Familiarity Ch 12 AAOF

_**Chapter Twelve Summary:**_ _General Hammond has Sam and Jolinar check out the prisoner to see if they can identify him. Although, they can't remember his name, they do remember that he is Tok'Ra, and also, that he is stationed on the same base she is. Jolinar knows that they were friends, perhaps even more than friends, but, for now, she can't remember just how close they were. General Hammond releases them from the cell and offers them the chance to remain for a time and get to know the Tau'ri…and Sam and Jolinar. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13 _

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host communication_

_**Cor'cyfials – **Heartfriends, best friends, lovers or all three things._

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Twelve**_

_**A Feeling of Familiarity**_

* * *

Sam sat up straight from where she was leaning over the table, moaned softly, and stretched the muscles between her shoulder blades and down her back. It took only a few seconds for them to begin to loosen, not because of the stretching, but because Jolinar, pulled from her inspection of the object they were studying, realized how tight and cramped they were, and immediately remedied the situation. _"I am sorry that I did not notice this before now, my Sam. You should have said something to me. As you know, I do not monitor everything all of the time, and I can be very hard to distract, when I am studying something._"

"_Don't worry about it, Jol. I didn't notice it myself, until just now." _She laughed quietly, adding, _"I tend to get wrapped up in what I'm doing, too, as you know by now, and I don't notice that I'm getting uncomfortable, until it becomes bad enough to pull my attention away." _

"_We are much alike in that way. I, too, can become immersed in things that interest me to the point of being oblivious to everything around me. It is nice to be able to do that instead of always having to be very alert, and on guard, expecting an attack at any moment." _

Sam gave her a quick hug and some sympathy, agreeing, _"Yeah, I know what you mean. When we're off world, we can't allow ourselves to become so wrapped up in something that we aren't aware of the dangers." _She grinned at her Lifemate, and then laughed softly, before adding, _"Well, we shouldn't, anyway, and that's one of the reasons we usually try to keep an extra sharp eye on Daniel. He becomes completely oblivious to the world around him, dangerously so, at times." _She paused, and a slight frown touched her expression, before she explained, "_Actually, even here on Earth, it's not a very good thing to do, when we're out among others. Not so much because of what we know, even though, there is that, too, but simply because it's not a very smart thing for anyone to do. There's evil in every population, and Earth is no different than any other, in that respect. The base is the closest to a safe area that we have. Even if we were at our home, we'd have to be alert, and pay attention to what's going on around us. There's danger there, too, so I understand what you are saying." _

Jolinar nodded her agreement and understanding, as she answered her, _"There are few places where we can be completely unaware of those around us. It is simply a part of life. And, it is not only others, of which we must be aware, but our surroundings, as well. Fatal accidents occur every day. A skillet of oil left forgotten on a lighted burner, a newly waxed floor with a throw rug that has no backing, a street to be crossed at which a red light is run; every day, common-place events can be reasons to stay alert. Danger does not always come from evil, yet evil is a constant, too. It has always been that way, and it is unlikely to change any time soon." _

Sam realized that Jolinar truly was beginning to acclimate to Earth, and its ways—along with its hazards—and she was seeing the mundane, in addition to, those that were attached specifically to their work environment. _"I have to wholeheartedly agree, Jol. But, statistically most of those things don't happen, not when you consider the number of people versus the number of accidents. They are common, yet not so common. It's like flying. Statistically, it's more dangerous to drive somewhere, than it is to fly, yet many people refuse to fly because planes do crash. They are just so used to driving that the actual dangers of it are disregarded. Of course," _she added, _"most of us have no choice but to drive. It's just something we do, that we should be super alert about when we do it." _

Jolinar gave her an agreeing, _"Mmhm," _as she eyed the object they were studying once again.

Once more relaxed, Sam leaned back over the table, as she, too, looked at, and studied the object again. The bit of technology that she and Jolinar were looking at wasn't cooperating. Neither of them had seen anything like it before, so it definitely wasn't Goa'uld in origin, and for all they could tell, it was nothing more than a door opener or a light switch. At first glance, it looked interesting, but eventually, they had come to the conclusion that it really wasn't. _"I do not believe it is worth studying any more, Samantha. It will be sent on to Area 51, and they can ponder over it. Perhaps it will reveal itself to them." _

"_Yeah, I think you're right. Okay, onward to the next one then." _She got up and put the piece into the crate where the objects that continued on to Area 51 were stored. It was beginning to fill up. It would be ready to ship out soon. On her way back to her seat, she asked, _"Which one do you want to look at next? I'm kind of intrigued by the keyboard looking thing over there, but I really don't have a preference." _

"_I believe that one will be fine. Like you, I have seen nothing in this group that calls out to me to examine it, so any of them will do." _

"_Okay, keyboard looking thing it is then." _She picked it up and carried it back to their workspace. Between the two of them, surely, they could figure out what this one could or should do.

As the time passed, Sam's mind drifted to Daniel and Sha'uri, and the events of the last few days. The reunited couple had settled in, and Sha'uri was more than willing to tell them everything she knew about the Goa'uld that she'd learned from Amaunet. She was cooperating fully. Daniel was thrilled to have his wife back, and Sam was happy for him, as was everyone else that knew about it. Their joy was filtering throughout the base, and there were more smiles and cheery greetings among the personnel.

She knew that the General called the President and explained the missions and their successful completion. She grinned to herself, as she remembered how General Hammond had enjoyed giving him the surprise addition to their military. The General told them that when he told the President that they were now the owners of a brand new mothership complete with four Al'kesh and a complete set of death gliders, compliments of Captain Carter and Jolinar, he was speechless, at first, and then so excited he still could barely talk.

That news given, when General Hammond suggested that Sha'uri be left with them and Daniel, until we could either remove Amaunet or the birth of the child caused her to come forward, he agreed to it, with barely a murmur. So, no Maybourne, for a couple of days, at least. Of course, the President really couldn't keep him away indefinitely, so he could come, but Daniel was to set the parameters of their conduct to her, and both he and the Colonel would be present during the interrogation. It _was_ too bad they couldn't completely cut him out, but as long as he complied with the conditions Daniel set, they shouldn't have any problem with him. At least, they were hopeful that it would work that way.

They were sure that he would insist on talking with her himself, but they hoped that he would be happy enough with the Intel the SGC managed to garner from Sha'uri that he would realize she truly was cooperating; and therefore, he wouldn't be completely unpleasant. That was the plan anyway. As for the President's reaction to the news of the ship, it was obvious yesterday, when they met with him in D.C. that General Hammond wasn't kidding them. The President was very, very happy about their new mothership, its death gliders, Al'keshes, and the shipwright. In fact, he was happy enough that he agreed to Jolinar's request for an Alkesh to be kept cloaked at the mountain with only a token hesitance. He'd also agreed that they could tell her dad about the Stargate Program, if there was a symbiote to offer him. But that wasn't something she wanted to think about right now.

K'haydan had asked to remain at the SGC. He said that he would be more than happy to work for them on both defenses for Earth and ship building, however, for now he would prefer to remain with those who rescued him. At least, until he felt more comfortable that no one was going to lock him up somewhere. The President himself talked to him on the phone and assured him that he was granting him diplomatic immunity. No one could accost or force him in any way. He felt somewhat better after that, but he still requested that they send the people he needed to talk with to him and allowed him to meet with them at the SGC. Once he became more comfortable, well, he would wait and see.

He was willing to join them in their fight and help all he could. The President assured him that allowing him time to adjust was the least that he could do. K'haydan would be a tremendous asset to them. He would happily grant him his one request. Maybourne would be pissed that he wouldn't be allowed access to another alien. He would no doubt decide that, like Jolinar, he was really an infiltrator for some nefarious group in league with the System Lords who were bent on taking over Earth from within, but she couldn't be bothered with his conspiracy theories, unless they interfered with Jolinar and her, SG-1, or someone they cared about directly. Not at the moment anyway.

Her mind drifted from K'haydan, to their trip to D.C., their meeting with the President, and her promotion. She had to grin about that. If she was the type, she would have done a happy dance. From there, her thoughts tried to move to thinking about her dad, but she shied away from that, for the time being. She wasn't ready to face what he'd told her. Not yet, anyway.

Sam forced her thoughts back to Sha'uri and Daniel. Sha'uri seemed to glow every time she looked at Daniel. It was really wonderful to see him happy, too. Sam grinned to herself and Jolinar. On the way back from Abydos, Daniel had started thinking about leaving the SGC, now that he had found her. When he told her what he was considering, Sha'uri had at first just stared at him, and then she'd really let him have it. Sam laughed aloud, as she thought back to that conversation.

It was obvious that Sha'uri was appalled at his words and his intentions. "You would desert your people? You would stop fighting the Goa'uld simply because I have been rescued? What of their loyalty to _you_, Dan'yel? What of their _dedication and help_ in finding and rescuing me? And what of Skaara? Will you leave him as Klorel? I am surprised and shamed by your thoughts, my Dan'yel. _My_ Dan'yel would never leave his people to fight their battle alone, not as long as he could help them. He would stay and fight for his home, her home, and the homes of millions of others who were oppressed by the Goa'uld."

Daniel had paled and then flushed. He sat quietly and stared at the floor, scowling at nothing in particular, but obviously deep in thought, but only for a fairly short time. When he finally lifted his head, he looked squarely at her and didn't flinch from her still accusing gaze. He had spoken quietly, but firmly, as he answered her, admitting that he was wrong, and assuring her, "You are absolutely right, Sha'uri. I still have to find Skaara. I don't know how I forgot that, unless having you back wiped everything else from my mind. I won't give up on him." He'd drawn a deep breath and added, "You're right about the other, as well. I won't '_desert_' my people and their fight, either. I hadn't thought of it in that way, but you _are_ correct. Just because my original goal was to rescue you and Skaara, that doesn't mean it's the only reason to fight the Goa'uld. Forgive me?"

Her smile was answer enough, but she still leaned in and kissed him, saying, "Of course, I forgive you. The evil being that inhabited my Dan'yel appears to have been vanquished. We will not allow it to return. My Dan'yel is back and here with me. I am proud of him and what he has done."

She'd paused for a moment, and then told him, "When I am free of the demon, I wish to work with you to defeat them, Dan'yel. I need to learn everything I can in the next two months before she returns. I do not mean about your military. That must wait, until she is no more. I mean that I need to return to our lessons. I need to become fluent in your language and customs. I need to return to practicing my writing and reading. I will not be bored while we wait. And I must attempt to remember everything I can that will aid your people in this fight." Sam smiled to herself once more. Sha'uri had surprised Daniel. It seemed that she grew into full adulthood during the past year and a half. She had a mind and an opinion of her own. She was glad; it would help her adjust to life on Earth and living with the Tau'ri.

* * *

General Hammond looked up, as Jack knocked lightly on his doorframe. "Good morning, General. You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, I did. Please, have a seat."

After sitting in a chair across from the General, he asked him, "What can I do for you, Sir? Is there a problem?"

The General shook his head, assuring him, "No, there isn't a problem exactly. The thing is…we have a Goa'uld in a holding cell."

Jack jumped to his feet and almost yelled, "We _What_?"

General Hammond sighed. "Sit down, Colonel. There isn't anything to get in an uproar about."

The Colonel relaxed somewhat but not completely. "How long has he been here? When is Maybourne coming for him? Did we get any information from him? Which one is he?" Jack was immediately in soldier/Colonel mode and rattled off the questions so quickly it was a wonder he didn't trip over his tongue.

The General smiled slightly, "He's been here since the day you left on your mission to steal the ships and rescue Sha'uri. Maybourne's not coming because no one has been told about his arrival. We don't know who he is, as he refuses to talk to us other than hello, good-bye, and thank you." He watched the Colonel's face, as he digested the information, he'd been given. "SG-6 brought him in. It seems that he arrived on the world they were on during their last mission. He arrived alone and proceeded to hand out packets of seeds and sundry other things to the people of that world. Some Jaffa arrived unexpectedly, and they ended up in a firefight. He was hit by two staff blasts and his eyes glowed. That was the first they realized he wasn't human but Goa'uld."

He continued his briefing, "They 'captured' him and brought him here for interrogation…assuming he lived. He was injured quite badly, and Dr. Fraiser doubted that he would make it, but he did. When he awoke, he asked which System Lord was in charge, and where he was. We told him only that there was no System Lord. He figured out somehow that we were the Tau'ri. He has told us nothing, not even his name."

"I called you in here, so you would know what was happening. Whoever he is, he doesn't act normal for a Goa'uld. We've speculated that perhaps he has some mental aberrations, although we have no idea if the Goa'uld can even have that type of thing. If that's so, he could become a more normal Goa'uld and become violent at any time. If not, then I suspect that he is Tok'Ra, but he won't admit it, since he doesn't know us or anything about us."

Jack frowned. "He doesn't sound like a typical Goa'uld; I agree with that. Why don't you ask Jolinar about him? She might even know him, even if he is Goa'uld and not Tok'Ra."

The General nodded. "I'm going to, but I wanted you to be filled in beforehand. I've cautioned everyone not to mention his aberrant behavior to Major Carter and Jolinar. I want them to see him with no preconceived ideas, as to who or what he might be. Understand? All I want them to know is that there is a Goa'uld prisoner that they are going to be interrogating. I'll be in security, and I want you to come there first, so that they can look at him on the cameras. If we're lucky, they'll not only know him right away, but also whether or not he is a System Lord or an underling to a System Lord."

The Colonel nodded. "I can do that. When do you want us to go?"

"Now. I'm going to call Major Carter, and let her know what we need her to do. You go ahead to her lab."

Jack stood. "Got it. See you in a few." He left, as General Hammond picked up the phone.

* * *

Sam stood and made her way to her phone, as it began to ring. "Major Carter, here."

"Major, I want you, Jolinar, and if needed, Colonel O'Neill to interrogate a prisoner. He was captured by Colonel Stevenson, and is a Goa'uld; however, he will give us no information, not even his name, so we don't know anything about him. The Colonel is on his way to your lab and will be there shortly. I want you to come to security together, in case Colonel O'Neill is needed to help in the interrogation."

Sam was silent, for a moment, as Jolinar spoke to her, _"I am very willing to see if I know who he is, and I will do my best to help you interrogate him, if that is what we need to do. However, if he is a System Lord or an underling, it might be best, if he does not realize that I am there. I suggest that we inject ourselves with the cloaking serum before we venture near to him. Should he find that you are Tok'Ra, it would make him even more uncooperative…not that I believe he will tell you anything, at least for now. It is difficult to get a Goa'uld to talk without using, ah, some persuasion, although, it is not impossible to accomplish, if done in the right way. We will see. If he is just a servant of some kind, then he probably knows nothing, and therefore, it will be a waste of time to even hold him, unless you wish to remove him from his host, which, in time, we could do." _

Sam gave Jolinar's comments some thought, before answering, _"I think you're right. I'll tell the General your suggestion." _

"General, Jolinar is very willing to attempt to do this, but she does have a suggestion and some comments. She believes that she should remain undetectable to the Goa'uld. Should he become aware that we are Tok'Ra, he will only become less cooperative, not more. Also, she says that unless he is a System Lord or a System Lord's underling, he won't know much anyway…at least not strategic things. I suppose he could tell us about the Goa'uld in general, but Jolinar can do that just as well. She did say we could hold him until we have access to the Tok'Ra and free the host, if you want to do that."

"Very well, Major. When the Colonel arrives, make your way to the security room first. That way, if Jolinar does know who it is, it will give you an edge."

"Yes, Sir, we'll be there shortly." Sam hung up the phone and proceeded to open the locked drawer in her desk and remove the case holding the serum. Taking it out, she injected herself and returned the syringe and serum to its place, being sure to replace it in the drawer and lock it. Not that anyone else would have a use for it, but it just seemed like the right thing to do. The serum the Tok'Ra were using acted fairly quickly. This one, the gift from the Asgard, worked much more quickly, taking no longer, than a minute or two, at most, and it lasted several hours longer than the other one depending on how much was injected. She'd used only a small amount, so it should wear off in a few hours, if not sooner. If the interrogation lasted longer than that, she would just have to leave long enough to inject more of it.

Sam frowned, as she waited for the Colonel to arrive. _"Well, Jolinar, maybe something interesting is about to happen. I wonder why the General wants us to do the interrogation other than possibly being able to identify him. I mean, it's not that I haven't done it before, but it isn't something I do on a regular basis. Usually, there are others that do that. Like our dear Maybourne." _

"_I do not know why, my Sam, although I suspect he thinks there is a possibility that I might know more about how to question a Goa'uld, and thus be able to elicit more information, which, I suppose, is true up to a point." _

Sam wandered over to the small mini-fridge and took out some water, as she pondered Jolinar's statement. After taking a long drink, she agreed, saying, _"I suppose that could be it. That makes as much sense as anything else." _

"_I wonder how long he has been a prisoner here. Surely, your Maybourne would have been alerted to his capture and come for him before now, if it has been for very long. It must be a recent event," Jolinar mused. _

"_Yes, I'd have to agree. Of course, on the other hand, we haven't been around much recently, so I suppose he could have been here for a few days, and we just didn't hear about it," _Sam pointed out.

"_Yes, this is true, too, my Sam. We have been away a great deal in the past few days. No doubt we will find out at some point in time," _Jolinar agreed, before she abandoned the subject.

After taking another long swallow of water, Sam replaced the bottle and turned toward her desk, when she heard O'Neill knocking on the doorframe. Looking up, she told him, "Jolinar and I are ready to go."

"Good. Let's hit it, then. General Hammond wants us to observe him first, and see if Jolinar knows him. After that, we'll play it by ear."

"That sounds okay to me. I have to admit, though, that Jolinar and I are both wondering why we're doing this instead of Maybourne."

Jack grinned as he chuckled softly. "Because Maybourne doesn't know we have a prisoner here, and he won't find out, until we see if we can get any information out of him first."

Sam nodded. She was surprised that the General was holding a prisoner and keeping it under wraps, but he must have a reason. She frowned, as she glanced at the Colonel, and asked, "How long has he been here?"

"Evidently, he's been here since the day we left on our last mission. I understand that Colonel Stevenson's team captured and brought him in. That probably got him and SG-6 some brownie points."

She nodded, as she returned his grin. "Very true." She paused before adding, "I'm surprised the General has kept him without reporting his capture, though."

"I think he wanted to be sure you got a look at him and a chance at him first. Since we were all gone for most of the last several days, he didn't have much choice, if he wanted you to see what you could do first. If we can't get anything out of him, then we'll probably have to turn him over to Maybourne."

Sam murmured her agreement, and then said, "This is changing the subject, but have you seen Daniel and Sha'uri yet today?"

"Yeah, I saw them right after breakfast. They were going to start questioning her this morning. I'm glad she's willing to tell us whatever she can about the Goa'uld. I suppose it's too much to hope that the new prisoner will be talkative, too." He sighed, "Oh, well, as they say 'nothing ventured, nothing gained'. We have to try, even if we think it's a galactic waste of time."

"Oh, you never know, Sir. Maybe we'll get lucky. Stranger things have happened. We can all attest to that."

He chuckled. "That, Major, is a very true statement."

* * *

The elevator stopped, and after stepping out of it, they made their way down the hall toward the security room. General Hammond had already arrived and was watching the surveillance screens. Jolinar came forward and stared at the Goa'uld who was being monitored. He was dressed in BDUs, and he was lying on the bunk with his arm thrown over his eyes. She couldn't see his face well enough to tell much about him.

Frowning, she turned to the General. "I will need to enter the room he is in. With him in your BDUs and his face covered, I cannot tell anything about him. This far away, I cannot even sense if he is truly Goa'uld. He almost seems familiar, and yet, I cannot tell who he is. Perhaps, if I am closer to him, and talk to him, I will be able to tell you more."

General Hammond nodded. "Very well. The Colonel and I will go to the observation area. With us in there, you'll be able to converse with us."

Jolinar indicated her agreement and gave control back to Sam. _"It is probably best, if you have control, at least at first. There is less chance that I will slip and allow my own voice to be used." _

"_I understand, Jolinar. I think you're correct to do it this way." _

General Hammond and Colonel O'Neill turned to go to the observation area, and Sam continued on toward the cell. Knowing that the two men would reach the observation area, before she entered the cell, as long as she didn't hurry, she ambled slowly down the corridor, until she came to the door. _"Ready, Jolinar?" _

"_Yes, let us see what we can find out." _

Sam opened the door and stepped into the room. Hearing the door open, the Goa'uld lowered his arm and swung his feet to the floor. Was it finally time for them to be interrogated? Both of them were surprised to see a blond woman walking toward them. Lantash came forward in case this was indeed the person they were waiting upon. He protected his host in these types of circumstances, and since they had no idea what sort of tactics and torture the Tau'ri used, it was safer for him to be in control.

Sam looked at them, and, although there was no immediate identification of them as Goa'uld, be it System Lords or underlings, Jolinar _was _sending a definite feeling of knowing them. Sam stepped closer to them, saying, "I'm Major Samantha Carter." She stopped abruptly, not having any idea what to say next, as she realized that they, or rather Jolinar, was now positive that she knew them. The feelings welling within them from Jolinar were that she knew them, perhaps very well, although she could not yet be sure of exactly how well.

Reaching up, Sam rubbed her forehead where a slight throb had begun. Closing her eyes against the pain, she felt a definite jolt of surprise from Jolinar, as they saw a brief flash of something, but it was gone so quickly that Sam couldn't tell exactly what it was, although it left her feeling somewhat uneasy. Then, quickly following the first instance, another image flashed before her mind's eye. It was more complete, and though short, there was no doubt of what it entailed. She could see this man sitting across from her at a table. They were in a large room, which appeared to be formed from blue crystals, and both of them had trays containing food setting in front of them. It ended as swiftly as it appeared, and another took its place. This time, the man was walking toward her in a blue crystal tunnel. He smiled at her, seemingly in welcome. As he reached out his hand to her, the image ended. All three of the images flitted through her mind rapidly, leaving her sure that she, they, Jolinar, knew him. At the very least, they were friends, and her feelings were that it was quite possible they were very good friends.

Sam frowned. Unfortunately, even though she recognized his face, whether they were friends or not, at the moment, there was no name she could associate with him. That she knew him fairly, or perhaps very well, there was now no doubt. The longer they stood looking at him, the more firm their belief that they were close friends became. The one thing that she could be very sure of was that he was most definitely a Tok'Ra, not a Goa'uld.

As Sam was analyzing her thoughts, Jolinar was keeping her thoughts to herself. She was glad that her Sam had not been able to discern what the first image that appeared to them was. She had recognized it, though. The two of them were entangled with one another as well as the sheets, and they were both naked. There was nothing platonic in that flash of awareness. Samantha was correct in thinking that at the very least they were friends; however, she knew from that first brief flash that they were at the very least _Cor'cyfials_. That information she would keep to herself, for now. Not because she did not want Sam to know that at one time they were probably lovers, but because she did not want her upset, before she knew for sure whether or not they were still involved with one another.

After all, there was no telling how long ago that image of them together had taken place. It could have been a very long time ago. Furthermore, she remembered feeling that she and Rosha had mates, so unless _they_ were her mates, which she supposed was possible, even if she did not recognize them as such, she did not want her Sam to worry about it.

She would admit that she felt a pull toward them, but to say she felt they were her, or their, mates would be questionable, for she did not feel one way or the other in regards to that thought. If it did anything, then thinking of them in such a way made her feel somewhat uneasy, although not uncomfortable. It just made her feel…disquieted, unsettled…but not in a truly bad way, and, she felt that it was not so much that they were not their mates, which was causing those feelings, as it was that, _if_ they _were_ their mates, then there were some unresolved issues between them. She sighed to herself. Why was nothing ever sharply defined and clear-cut? Why, she wondered, must everything be so complicated?

Returning from her own thoughts, Jolinar found Sam still simply looking at him, as he stared back at her in confusion, no doubt wondering why she said nothing else. Just before Jolinar was about to nudge her to say something more, she finally blurted out, "Who are you?"

Lantash flared Martouf's eyes, and spoke to her in a way that bordered on arrogance, "Who I am makes no difference. Neither who I am, nor where I am from, is any of your concern. You are wasting your time. I will tell you nothing."

"Yes, well, at least you are loyal, whoever you are," Sam answered swiftly, with a slight hint of amusement in her voice.

Lantash frowned at her answer, for it made no real sense to him. "You have no basis on which to make that statement." This time there was definitely a full measure of arrogance and pride within the voice that spoke to them.

Sam grinned, as she murmured, "Oh, I wouldn't be any too sure of that," before turning from him to the observation area. She looked up and spoke with assurance, "It's quite safe. You can release him now, General Hammond. He _is_ Tok'Ra."

Colonel O'Neill didn't look convinced. "How do you know for sure?"

Sam shrugged. "I can't explain it Colonel; I just know that he's Tok'Ra."

General Hammond took over saying, "Do you know this, ah, person? Do you recognize him?"

Sam frowned. "Yes, I'm sure that I know him, although, I'm still not sure and, therefore, can't yet tell you, if I know him well or not." She paused, and then added, "But, I think I do—know him well that is."

The General frowned in thought.

"_How can she know us, Lantash? We have never seen her before," _Martouf asked his mate, as the others contemplated what the woman said.

"_I do not know, Martouf. I agree we have never seen her before…and she is not of the Tok'Ra, as she has no symbiote. Perhaps, now that we are aware that they already know of us, and obviously, according to her words about releasing us, do not consider us an enemy, we will be more forthcoming ourselves. There is no point in hiding what we are, if they already know beyond a doubt." _Lantash looked up at the person she was talking to, and added, "_If, that is, they believe her. The two up there look somewhat doubtful, one of them more so than the other." _

"_I have to agree. I suppose all we can do is wait to see what happens next. Surely, if she can discern Tok'Ra from Goa'uld, they are aware of that fact…although, I have no idea how she could do so. Is that even possible?" _

"_I have never heard of anyone with that ability, although, as you are aware, among ourselves we can often recognize energy signatures, and thus know who that symbiote is. I do not know how she could possibly know what we are, even though, it is apparent that she does." _Lantash was feeling almost as unsettled about the turn of events as Martouf was.

Finally, General Hammond asked, "How can you be so sure? Perhaps you knew him as a System Lord, or one of his underlings, instead, and have confused him with someone else?"

Sam shook her head in denial, and assured him, "No, General, I'm quite sure that I know him. In fact, I'm fairly sure that he's from my home base. I believe that I've known him for a very long time, and I'm sure that he's not…anyone I dislike or, um, anything like that. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name. However, the longer I'm around him the more sure I become that we are friends."

The General paused once more, before questioning one more time, "Jolinar assures you of this, Major? She is very sure?"

"Yes, Sir. She is very, very sure that she knows him, and we actually had a couple of images of him flash by, when we first saw him. Both of the images showed them on our, her, base, so there can't be any mistake. We, er, they were together having a meal in one, and in another, they met one another in a corridor. She's absolutely positive, General Hammond."

"Very well, Major. Jolinar hasn't steered us wrong yet, and I don't believe she would tell us that, if she wasn't one hundred percent sure that he's Tok'Ra and not a threat to us."

They were all startled by the hoarse whisper from the man in the cell, "Jolinar?"

Sam turned back to the Tok'Ra, stating, "Yes, Jolinar is here with me. And who are you? As you no doubt heard, she knows you, but she can't remember your names. A few of her memories are…missing."

Lantash stared at her, unable to respond. Martouf gained his attention, saying, _"Lantash, what do we do? She does not remember us? How can you forget your mates of almost one hundred years?" _

"_I do not know, Martouf. It is very obvious that something has happened to her and Rosha. What I do not understand is why we cannot feel her." _

"_Ask. I would like to know that, as well. They cannot be lying to us, as they would have no way of knowing Jolinar, unless she was indeed here." _

Taking a deep breath, Lantash finally managed to bring himself under control enough to ask, "If Jolinar is within you, why can I not feel her?" His question came out harsher than he intended, as he grappled with all of the possibilities and ramifications of the situation.

Sam blinked at him for a moment, not expecting that particular question or the raw—pain—in his voice. It made her answer somewhat milder than it might have been. "Oh. I'm sorry; I forgot. We took a serum that hides the symbiote. We believed that you were Goa'uld, and we felt that it would be better, if he couldn't sense her." Realizing that if they knew Jolinar, they also knew Rosha, Sam told them softly, "If you are friends of Jolinar and Rosha's then you must be wondering what happened to Rosha. I'm sorry. She didn't survive."

Lantash stared at her woodenly, before he turned and walked back to the bunk. Turning to sit down, he almost fell upon it. After sitting and looking at the floor for a moment, he turned his eyes back to her. Finally, he managed to say, "We knew…both of them…very well. We mourn Rosha's loss. It is…difficult for us…at the moment."

Sam nodded and looked at them with sympathy. "I truly am sorry that I'm the one that had to give you this news. I hope that Jolinar's survival can mitigate your pain somewhat." She cleared her throat, and asked, "Um, do you think you could give us your names now that we know what you are?"

He looked back up from where he had once more been staring at the floor, as he, they, absorbed the fact that Rosha was truly dead, and they would never see her again. He looked at her blankly, for a short time, before pulling himself together again and responding, "I…yes, of course. I apologize. I am Lantash and my host is Martouf. He is…having difficulty assimilating the news and bearing her loss. As I said, we were…very close to both of them."

Sam's eyes flared and Jolinar came fore. "I am very sorry. I could not save her; she was too badly hurt by the Jaffa and Ashrak. Had it not been for a very kind man, I would not have survived either. I am afraid that he, also, died in an attack caused by the Ashrak, who found me one more time after that. I almost died that time, as well, before the Tau'ri managed to kill him. Without their assistance, _I_ would not have survived. As you can tell…there was some damage to my memories, which I have not yet been able to overcome. Some of my memories are not complete, and others are missing, leaving me only feelings about some…events and people. I do recognize you, as well as know that you are from my base, and that we are friends; however, I do not know anything else about you. That will probably change shortly, as my memories are slowly returning. Since you are now here, I believe that I will remember more about you, soon. It appears that my memories are sometimes brought forward by outside events…which you are."

"_Lantash are you not going to tell her who we are? What she and the Major are to us?" _

"_No Martouf, I do not believe that we should do so, at least, not at this time. We need more information, and I have no intention of leaving here without it…and our mates. Why has she not returned to our base? Why has she remained here with the Tau'ri instead of returning?" _

"_Perhaps she does not remember the address, Lantash. That is possible and even probable. There was no way that she could return without it. She and her new host are the only ones who know her reasons." _

Lantash sighed, before agreeing, "_What you say is true, Martouf. It is very possible that she had no way of finding her way home and so decided to stay with her new host's people. That makes sense." _ He paused, obviously thinking, before continuing, "_I still do not believe we should announce our relationship, at this time. For one thing, as I stated, we need information, and for another, it will give us a chance to become acquainted with our new mate in more casual circumstances. She will not feel as pressured to accept us…and for that matter, we will not feel so pressured to learn of her as quickly as it sometimes happens. Perhaps it is for the best." _

"_If you are sure this is the best thing to do, I will go along with it. If I am honest, I have to admit that what you say is probably very true, and this will give us time together to get to know one another. I cannot say that I like the idea of waiting, or am completely happy about it, but I will agree to it." _

Lantash gave him a sad smile. _"Neither am I happy about it, Martouf; however, I also believe that we should not try to force her to remember our relationship, at least, not for now. Not yet. If you will think about it, whenever one of our operatives were injured and could not remember, the healers always said that they should be allowed to remember on their own, incase their memory loss was their way of coping with something they were not yet ready to face. We do not know if this is the same thing, but perhaps we should assume that it is and follow that advice." _

"_Yes, I remember that now that you bring it up. We will follow it…as you say, at least for now." _

Knowing that they were probably discussing the information given to them, Jolinar and Sam remained quiet. Hearing the door open, they turned to see the General step into the room and hear him order, "Release them, Sergeant. They are no longer prisoners."

When he turned back to them, Sam told him, "General, this is Lantash. His host's name is Martouf. I think you'd left the observation area before we reached that part in our conversation with them."

"You're right, Major, I had. Thank you for telling me." Turning to Lantash and Martouf, he told them, "I'm General Hammond and the commander of Stargate Command. I apologize for your treatment; however, now that we know you are Tok'Ra and not Goa'uld, you are welcome to be our guests, until such time as you must leave for your own base. No doubt, you will wish to talk to Jolinar and Major Carter. I'll see to it that they have time off, so that you can become acquainted again, if you plan to stay with us for a time."

Lantash was surprised. He had not expected to be treated as a guest or asked to remain, if they wanted to do so, even knowing that Jolinar was an accepted member among them. He glanced at the Major and saw her smile at them. They would not yet be expected back at the base, and they needed time with both Samantha Carter and Jolinar. There were many things they needed to know. Looking back at the General, he told him, "We thank you and would be very pleased to stay and spend some time with Jolinar and Major Carter. I would like to hear all that has happened, as it has been a great many months, since we, and those on our base, last heard from her. There is also the chance that we can be of some assistance and perhaps help her to regain some of her lost memories."

He glanced over at him, as another man joined them, wondering who he was and how he fit into the Tau'ri's organization. Seeing his questioning look, the man held out his hand, saying, "Colonel Jack O'Neill. Major Carter and Jolinar are my second-in-command on my team, SG-1."

Bowing slightly, Lantash answered calmly, "It is a pleasure." He then looked at the Major and the General before asking, "When you say that Jolinar is a member of your team, does that mean that she is considered a member of your, ah, military?"

"Yes, she is. We consider ourselves very fortunate to have her," General Hammond answered him calmly.

Once again, both Martouf and Lantash felt surprise, and were not sure what to think of the latest bit of information; therefore, they said nothing in response other than a quiet, "I see."

Feeling the slight tension that appeared to come with the General's answer, Colonel O'Neill tried to ease it, by asking, "Ah, yeah, well, say, is anyone ready for lunch? It's about time to eat, isn't it?"

The General's lips twitched, as he tried to conceal a smile at the Colonel's well-meant, but slightly awkward, attempt to ease the tension. At least, it appeared to work. "I believe it is, Colonel. Why don't you, Jolinar, and the Major take Lantash and his…host, ah, Martouf, and have some lunch, while they prepare his quarters?"

Turning to Sam, he told her, "I'll see that he's given quarters next to yours, if that's all right, Major. I imagine he would prefer to be able to find you easily, at least, until he is more comfortable here. You can show him where the restricted areas are, as well as the cafeteria, the gym, and any other areas that he's free to access. It's your responsibility to see to whatever he needs."

Sam nodded. "Yes, Sir, I'll be happy to do whatever I can to make him comfortable." Sam paused, before adding, "If I might make a suggestion?"

General Hammond nodded, indicating she should continue.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea to assign an SF? There could be times that I'm not immediately available, and that way he wouldn't have to go looking for someone to answer a question or fulfill a need."

Realizing that this was the Major's way of suggesting that they assigned him a guard, until they knew more about them, he agreed, "That's an excellent suggestion, Major. I hadn't thought about the times when you would be unavailable, for one reason of another. Thank you for the suggestion."

Lantash smiled, also realizing what she was doing. Knowing that it was no more than the Tok'Ra would do, if confronted with a person they knew almost nothing about; he could not fault them for taking the precaution. In fact, he was glad to see that they were a friendly, but alert and cautious people. Deciding that he would pretend ignorance of the real reason for their 'guide', he gave them a rather neutral smile, as he told them, "That is very thoughtful. Thank you, Major Carter, General Hammond. We appreciate it."

Sam flashed them a smile filled with so much warmth it almost made him catch his breath. He did stare, for a very brief moment, until she responded, "You're welcome. Now, first things first. Please, call me Sam. Since you and Jolinar are obviously fairly close friends, there's no reason not to use my first name. The second thing is, as the Colonel suggested; let's go get some lunch. I don't know about you two, but Jolinar and I are hungry."

The Colonel seconded that suggestion, telling them, "Yeah, come on, Marty. Let's go."

"_Marty? Did he just call me Marty?" Martouf asked, sounding very surprised…and slightly affronted. _

Lantash laughed_. "Yes, Martouf, I believe that he did. And Samantha is laughing at him for doing, so. I imagine Jolinar is telling her that you will be feeling insulted by the shortening of your name. Samantha is somewhat unique, do you not agree?" _

"_Yes, I agree. Not only that, but…our new mate is very beautiful, is she not? And she also appears to be very kind, as well. Do you think that she will come to care for us?" _Martouf sighed, before he continued,_ "And probably just as important…will we come to care for her?" _

TBC


	13. Understanding the Circumstances Ch13AAOF

_**Chapter Thirteen Summary: **Jolinar knows Lantash and Martouf, she knows that they are Tok'Ra, and that they are from her base. She feels she knows them well, and she believes that, at one time, they were probably lovers. She feels there is something between them, but doesn't know exactly what. Lantash and Martouf are shocked to find Jolinar alive; she was presumed and declared dead. They mourn Rosha's loss, but are attracted to Sam. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13 _

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communications _

_**Mer Prinekh – **My Lifemate. It is a term of Endearment between host and symbiote._

_**Mer FyCariadon kea – **My Dearest One_

_**Cariad kea – **Dear One_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Thirteen**_

_**Understanding the Circumstances**_

* * *

General Hammond held up his hand. "One more moment, before you go, Major Carter. I believe that I should explain some things to Lantash and Martouf." Turning so that he faced the Tok'Ra squarely, he told them, "When you were brought in, you were in very poor physical condition. Dr. Fraiser was very guarded about whether or not you would survive, even with our help, little though that would be. Still, she and Jolinar had discussed the possibility of using our techniques for preventing shock; they decided that we should try that the next time one of you needed it. We had to do whatever we could to help. I admit that after I talked to Colonel Stevenson and SG-6, I urged her to do everything possible to help you, so that you could heal yourselves. Not," he added, "that she wouldn't have anyway, because she would, but I guess I felt better after telling her that."

He paused for a moment, before continuing, "I must be honest, and tell you that there was another reason, besides having a Goa'uld that we could interrogate, to try to keep you alive. I wasn't convinced that you _were _a Goa'uld. Your actions before the firefight, as painted by Colonel Stevenson, puzzled SG-6 and me, since your actions on the planet were very much _not _what we would expect of a Goa'uld. Then, too, although you would give us no information, you were always polite in what you did say. It was out of character for a Goa'uld. You just didn't fit the mold of what we know of them. I expected insults and threats; therefore, it occurred to me that short of some head injury, some mental instability, or mental aberration being the cause of your unusual behavior, I should do some serious thinking about you and the situation."

"The more I thought about what I'd been told, and the more I observed and received reports from my medical staff, the more I felt that you were not what we believed you to be. Unfortunately, not only had we not known Jolinar very long, you were brought in just after she and Major Carter left on a mission, which lasted a few days. When they returned, we had to leave again almost immediately for our Capitol, Washington, D.C., to meet with our President, ah, the leader of our country, as he wished to meet Jolinar and Major Carter."

"I know you have to be wondering why someone other than Major Carter couldn't have interrogated you. In the normal course of events, you would have been turned over to our security people almost immediately. The reason you haven't been interrogated, by our security forces is that I haven't yet turned in a report about your arrival here. I wanted to give Jolinar and Major Carter a chance to see if they knew you, before I turned you over to their less than gentle methods and personalities."

"And, that being said, I'll let you go to lunch, while I go make a phone call to the President; although, I expect Maybourne to be here before very long, anyway. I'm quite sure that he's heard about you being here by now. Our excuse is that, at first, you were too ill to be interrogated, and then, I was not available to grant him access to the prisoner."

"General, are you saying you know that we have a leak?" Colonel O'Neill didn't like the sound of what he was implying.

"Yes, Colonel, I've suspected for quite a while now. Someone is definitely keeping Maybourne's department informed about things like this. The President knows about it, and he's looking into it, too. I have a fair idea of who it is, and they will probably be transferred before too long, if my beliefs pan out."

As their exchange paused, Lantash spoke out, "I see. We will deal with it, when it occurs, General, but we thank you for your honesty and information. I do not see a problem with him interrogating us. We have been held and 'interrogated' by many System Lords. I doubt your Maybourne could be much worse."

"They do not use torture, Lantash; not as we know it. This Maybourne is just an annoying, pompous little man who thinks that he is much more important than he actually is. You are correct not to allow him to disturb you and Martouf," Jolinar's voice was firm and confident.

Lantash smiled his thanks for the information, but wondered about her comment. _"We can think about this later, Lantash; the General is speaking again,"_ Martouf's words brought his attention back to the others.

"I'll let you know what the President has to say, after I talk to him; however, I foresee no problems." The General quirked a wry smile, "If all else fails, he may place you under diplomatic immunity. That worked for us very recently."

The others grinned at him, and Lantash realized there was a story there. Perhaps they would find out what it was sometime. Whatever it was about, it seemed to be a good thing, for it was quite apparent that they were all very pleased about it.

Still smiling, O'Neill opened the door, and they all left the cell area; the General to go to his office to make his report to the President, and the other three, or five, depending on how you looked at it, to head for the mess hall. As they walked toward an elevator, Martouf questioned Lantash, _"What are we going to do? It is true that we are not expected back on base, for a while; however, should we stay here or try to return and complete the remainder of our support visits, so that we can finish our mission?" _

"_We shall remain here, Martouf. As I said before, I am not leaving without our mates, although," he sighed, "if she does not wish to return to the tunnels, there is nothing we can do about that, except to accept her decision. Besides that, finding out what has occurred to Jolinar, and to Rosha, is as, if not more, important than our mission. None of the worlds that we were to visit were in dire need of anything that we were taking to them, and our contacts would attempt to contact the Tok'Ra, if they had any truly important information for us. I believe that finding out about what has happened to our mates to be the more urgent of the two things," _Lantash's voice was very firm, and his arguments were logical, so Martouf 'nodded' his agreement.

After a moment or two, he heard Lantash asking him, _"Do you want control, Martouf? I will be glad to relinquish it to you, if you feel you want to have it." _

This time Martouf shook his head no. _"I do not believe so, Lantash. If you do not mind, I think that I will simply watch and listen, for a time yet, and try to absorb what has occurred. Perhaps later I will wish to take the lead, but not for now. At the moment, I am still trying to…recover…from the news that Rosha truly is no more." _

"_I understand, Cariad kea. Although they were declared dead, it is still a shock to have her death confirmed. Take all the time you need. I will think about it and mourn for her later, when we are once more alone. There is no reason that you cannot mourn and come to terms with it now, though. It is probably the best thing for us to do, as that will allow me my time to assimilate and come to terms with the news, while you are in control later." _

"_Thank you, Lantash, Mer FyCariadon kea."_

As they reached the elevator and stepped into it, Jolinar commented to him, "You will find that their food is somewhat similar to ours, although the names of the items are, of course, different as is most of the preparation. They tend to eat more meat, poultry, and fish than we do, but they also serve an abundance of vegetables and many deserts. I think you will enjoy it, even though it will be slightly different from our normal fare." Seemingly, in deep thought, she frowned, although that disappeared after a short time, and she gave him a small smile instead. "If I am not confusing you with someone else, I believe that both you and Martouf enjoy trying the cuisine of different cultures, so you will find this interesting, as well as enjoyable." She laughed lightly, adding, "My Sam, reminds me to tell you at this is a military installation and therefore, the food is not the best that this world has to offer. She says it is tolerable, and occasionally even good, but that there are many restaurants, eating establishments, as well as home cooked meals that are much more than good. If we are ever allowed to leave the base, perhaps we will eat at one of them."

Lantash looked surprised before he commented, "You are not allowed to leave the base? Why is that?" He frowned, and then said, "It seems to me that perhaps you are more of a prisoner than not, Jolinar. That would be unacceptable to us."

Now it was their turn to look surprised, as did Colonel O'Neill. However, before he could say anything, Jolinar, realizing his intention, held up her hand to let him know that she wished to answer. She listened first, to what Sam had to say, _"I believe that I should field this one, Jolinar. Then, if he still seems upset, you can have a try." _

Jolinar nodded her agreement, saying, _"All right. Perhaps, that is a good idea. Coming from you it may hold more weight, and I will be able to support your comments afterwards." _

Jolinar's eyes glowed, and Sam turned her head to Lantash and Martouf, stating quietly, "Jolinar and I have not been together for very long. At first, we were under guard because we, meaning the Tau'ri, had never heard of the Tok'Ra, and it took a while for us to be understood and accepted. My being in control most of the time, and their ability to tell that it really was me in control, and not Jolinar, was a great help. Then, too, we left the base to talk to an informant, before our recent mission, and the fact that we returned, also allowed more trust to be built. They kind of took a leap of faith; their expectation was that, since we left alone, there was a good chance that Jolinar would take control of me, head for her base, and they wouldn't hear from us again. It was a very risky decision for them, as they could have lost me forever, if their tentative trust was wrong, and Jolinar decided not to return to the mountain."

Sam paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts, before continuing, "However, even if none of those things were true, and they had all the trust in the world in us, we would still probably not be allowed to leave the base, except through the Stargate. Our world, well, sometimes it's not a very nice place; although, it's not over run by evil or anything. Most people are good and kind. However, there are factions within this country who would give a great deal to have a Goa'uld Symbiote in their hands, and they wouldn't care that you are on our side in this fight. Maybourne is a member of one of those factions and unfortunately, it is a government agency. It has become corrupt, in our opinion, but one doesn't really say that aloud, unless you're very sure of the person to whom you are talking. The group that Maybourne is attached to is the main one that we have to be careful of and guard against."

She sighed deeply, before she continued to explain, "I guess I'm trying to tell you that, even if we were allowed to leave the base, and I believe that we will be before too long, it wouldn't be a very safe thing for us to do. Not when we are alone anyway. I suspect that we'll be allowed to leave, as long as we have armed guards with us, at least until they can stop the faction about which I'm talking. Just as we went to Washington D.C. yesterday with the Colonel and General Hammond, I'm sure we'll be out and about at other times, probably with our teammates, so that should something happen, they can both protect us and do damage control, if it should be needed."

Jolinar came fore to add her thoughts on the subject, assuring him, "Lantash, we are not prisoners. We can leave the base and go to any world to which we wish to or need to go. It is, for the time being, just Earth that is 'somewhat', but not completely', closed to us. For the same reasons that Samantha gave to you, it would be very unwise and ill-advised for you to leave the base unescorted, even were you allowed to do so, and at the moment you won't be allowed above ground, I am quite sure. It would be folly, on their part, to allow you access to their world, when they know you not at all. Not only because you are Tok'Ra, but also, because this world is not like the majority of the worlds that we visit. While the Tau'ri are less technologically advanced than the Tok'Ra, they are still much father advanced than the majority of the worlds with which we come into contact."

She paused, and it was apparent that she was giving her words some thought before she spoke, "In fact, even after being exposed to the technology that they have here, within the mountain, I was still both unprepared and surprised by what I saw, when we left to go to Washington D.C. yesterday. Not only was I unprepared for the technology in use and available to anyone, but also by the sheer number of people on this world. I know of no other world with which we are familiar where there are so many people. There are literally millions of people in this country, the United States of America." She paused again for a moment, this time to listen to Sam, before she continued, "Samantha assures me that it is actually billions of people, when you take into account the entire Tau'ri world, Earth. You are unfamiliar with their ways, their customs, their technology, and the people themselves. It is very possible that you would get killed simply trying to cross a street, if you had no one who knew the correct procedure to do so with you. Samantha does not lie. We are not prisoners in the true meaning of the word; we are simply somewhat confined for now, for our own safety."

They exited the elevator during their conversation, and they now reached the mess hall. Sam and Jolinar were surprised when Colonel O'Neill stopped, before they entered, to add to their statements, "They're right, you know. Eventually, they'll be allowed to leave the base, but they may very well have to have an armed escort. There's another thing of which we have to be aware. Should the Major and Jolinar be in an accident and then end up being taken to a civilian hospital, it would be very difficult to keep everyone that comes into contact with her from talking. In fact, they probably wouldn't keep it confidential regardless how hard we tried to get them not to speak of what they saw and now know is true."

"Ya see, what no one has told you yet, is that the general population of the United States, hell, of Earth, doesn't know that the Stargate exists, or that there are other beings out there, some of which want to kill or enslave them. Although many believe there are others 'out there', many believe that we are the only beings in the entire universe. Crazy, I know. Anyway, back to what I wanted to say…can you imagine the worldwide panic that would ensue, if the Stargate and the truth of aliens existing became known? It would be a disaster. Governments would fall, there would be wars, and it would become anarchy. Scientists would go crazy wanting to go to other worlds and explore things. Of the governments that didn't fall, they would either want the Gate or at the very least, access to it. Part of the populace would want to move off world, to explore and become the new generation of pioneers."

Jack shook his head, and then continued, "Yes, eventually the other governments and the people will have to be told, but by then, we can hope that the threat from the Goa'uld will be lessened, or gone completely. The mothership that Jolinar and Sam stole for us will go a long way toward helping us secure this world. Once we've done that, it won't be so vital that it be the best kept secret of our time. I believe that the fear of attack would be the most destructive force and, if we can defend the planet, then that will take much of that fear away." He looked thoughtful, for a moment, before grinning and adding, "Of course, the other governments will be livid because our technology, at that point, would mean that we could rule the entire world. It's a good thing we have no desire for world domination. At least, most of us don't." He added under his breath, "Kinsey, now, he'd be all for it."

Raising his voice to normal again, he went on to say, "But, that time hasn't arrived and, until it does, we have to be super careful. So, as I was saying, before I went off on that tangent, if Sam and Jolinar ended up in a civilian hospital, the consequences would be very bad. Even if all they did was take blood, the blood itself is off from what normal human blood contains, and it would probably either scare or fascinate the Doctors. They'd call in colleagues, etc. As you can see, something as mundane, as Jolinar said, as crossing the street becomes a major worry. When you add in the N.I.D., you just have a catastrophe waiting to happen. I hope you can understand and not hold it against us. I'm very sure, just as the Major is that they won't be cooped up here for long, so give this thing time. This is a new and unknown situation. We're dealing with it the best that we can."

"_Lantash, how long do you believe that Jolinar has been here? I assumed from the trust that they showed to her that she had been here for quite some time. However, she indicated that she has only been here a very short time,"_ Martouf voiced one of his multitude of questions.

"_I agree, Martouf. I hope that they will tell us what has occurred soon, for I am becoming impatient to know everything, as well,"_ Lantash's opinion was stated clearly and Martouf agreed, but before he could say anything else, Lantash commented, _"She stole a mothership, Martouf. She has not changed; she is as reckless as ever. Without Rosha to temper her, there is no telling what she will do next."_ He groaned as he gave this concept some thought. _"What if Samantha Carter is as reckless and daring as Jolinar is? It will be a nightmare,"_ he added with a sigh.

"_Yes, I agree. But back to the subject at hand, I do believe them. I do not believe that she is a prisoner…at least, as she said, not in the true sense of the word." _

"_Yes, I believe that you are correct. I do wonder why she has not returned to the tunnels, though, if it is true that she is allowed to leave here." _ Lantash brooded about this seeming incomprehensible act on Jolinar's part.

Martouf sighed and reminded him, _"They are waiting for you to answer. I do not believe that we will leave this hall, until this conversation is finished_."

Lantash brought himself out of his internal conversation, assuring them, "I understand what you are saying. She is a prisoner of circumstances not of body. We must hope that it does not remain that way for very long." Then changing the subject he questioned, "Should we not move into the room and acquire something to eat?"

They murmured agreement to his comment concerning the food, then turning toward it once more they went through the door and approached the area where the food was being served. At they neared it, Lantash commented, "I have to admit that, as you said, the food here is quite edible. We have been eating it for several days now, and truly have had no complaint."

Sam glanced over at him, exclaiming, "That's right. I forgot that you've been here for a few days and would have already had some of the Tau'ri food. I guess Jolinar's comments about the different types of food were unnecessary."

He shook his head, as he assured her, "No, it was interesting to hear Jolinar's opinions of Tau'ri food. I was curious if her thoughts on it coincided with mine. I agreed with most of what she said, but she forgot to mention that the Tau'ri do not appear to eat either more or less fruit than we do."

Sam laughed, as she reached forward and picked up a tray. "You're right. I'm getting the impression from Jolinar that she agrees." She shrugged, adding, "Regardless, if you have any questions about the food and/or what it is, just ask. I'll admit that there are times that it's a little hard to figure out exactly what it is that you're eating…at least, until you taste it. Of course, that doesn't always work either."

Lantash smiled, when she laughed. She had a lovely, infectious laugh. "All right. I will not hesitate to ask should something appear unrecognizable."

Jack O'Neill snorted from where he stood beside Lantash. "This food is great compared to the MREs. Daniel swears that MREs all taste like chicken, but I'm not sure that I agree. Sometimes, you're sure that someone put the wrong food in the packet because it doesn't taste anything like what the label declares it to be. We'll let you try one sometime. Who knows, you may agree with Daniel."

Lantash nodded. "I assume that your MREs are a type of field ration, yes?" After they nodded, he continued, "I suspect that rations are similar regardless whose they are. The Tok'Ra's are sometimes unidentifiable or they taste nothing like what they say they are, so I understand exactly what you mean. It must be a universal constant; all military rations will be a mystery and should be regarded with suspicion and eaten with caution."

O'Neill smiled. At least the, uh, guy had a sense of humor. That helped. He wondered why the host wasn't coming out and talking to them, though. As his suspicions raised their head, he closed his eyes and told himself to cool it, or he'd probably make a fool of himself. He managed to keep his mouth shut, and his feet on the floor.

After making their selections, they made their way to a table that almost appeared to be somewhat isolated from the others. No one was sitting close enough to hear anything that was said, as long as they all talked softly. Lantash wondered if it was a deliberate choice, but decided that it probably was not, since there was another person sitting there. When he was finally facing him, he froze in place for a moment, but regained his poise so quickly that no one appeared to notice. He murmured, almost to himself, but also, to Martouf, "So, our operatives were correct, and it is very true. Teal'c, Apophis's First Prime, has renounced his 'god' and become Shol'va. Furthermore, it appears that he is allied with the Tau'ri, which answers the question of what became of him, since our operatives did not appear to know."

He heard Martouf chuckle softly in him mind, as he responded, _"If you did not have such impressive self-control, Lantash, I believe that our jaw would be sitting on the floor, and you would be staring at him in dumbfounded surprise." _

Lantash sent a wry smile to his host, along with his reply, _"I do not doubt that you are correct, Mer Prinekh. I am perfectly willing to admit that I am surprised I did not drop our tray onto the floor and stumble over our feet, in my amazement at seeing him here. Finding him here is certainly a shock, even though our operatives swore that it was true and he had become Shol'va." _

He was thoughtful for a long moment, as everyone became settled around the table, and then commented to Martouf, _"I am also beginning to believe that there is something about these Tau'ri that we are as yet unaware. We must think on this and discuss it later, for it may answer some of our questions pertaining to Jolinar and her continued presence here." _

"_I very much agree. Jolinar would not be this friendly and trusting of them, if there was not something about them that warranted it." _It was obvious that Martouf, too, felt there was more to this situation than could be gleaned at first glance.

"_Agreed, but now we must turn our attention to the conversation once more." _Lantash looked up from his tray, as O'Neill said his name.

"Lantash, this is Teal'c. He's a member of my team, SG-1, along with Sam and Jolinar. Teal'c, this is Lantash, and ah, um, I think Martouf, although we haven't heard much from him, so I'm not sure if I remember correctly."

Lantash bowed his head to Teal'c, saying, "It is an honor to meet you, Teal'c. We have heard of you, and we are aware that you denounced Apophis as a false God; however, no one appeared to know what became of you. I am impressed and glad to see you actively fighting against the System Lords."

Teal'c bowed his head in greeting in return. "Thank you. It is something that I have wished to do for a very long time; however, the Tau'ri were the first people I met who I felt had a chance at defeating them. I am proud to fight alongside them in their battle against them. Someday, I hope that all Jaffa will be free of the Goa'uld's suppression."

Lantash nodded his understanding, "That is a worthy goal, Teal'c. I hope that you succeed in freeing them."

After answering Teal'c, he turned to O'Neill, explaining, "Martouf is mourning Rosha. When he has come to terms with her loss and feels that he is once more in control of his emotions, he will take control. Then, I will allow my emotions to come forward and mourn her, while he continues to see that we function normally. You will become acquainted with him, Colonel O'Neill, I assure you."

Jack looked both embarrassed and relieved. His one suspicious thought had been proven wrong. It seemed weird that he would feel that much angst over a friend, though. "I'm sorry. I know you mentioned it earlier, but I didn't realize that he would still be…well, anyway, I'll look forward to getting to know him later."

Lantash smiled slightly at the Colonel's obvious confusion, and the question he knew was behind his comments. "Martouf, Rosha, and Jolinar were very close friends, as they had a great deal in common. I, too, was very good friends with Rosha, as well as with Jolinar. We spent a great deal of time together, whenever she, or we, were not on a mission. Jolinar and I have known one another for a great many centuries. We have been close friends and stationed on the same base for over one hundred of your years. We will miss that togetherness with Rosha."

Not really knowing what to say to that, O'Neill murmured, "Ah, I see. You have my sincere condolences."

"Thank you, Colonel. Perhaps we should discuss something else, however. I am not yet ready to confront her loss." He paused for a moment, and then asked him, "How many people are on your team, Colonel O'Neill?"

"There are four, er, five of us. Major Carter, Jolinar, Teal'c, Daniel Jackson, and myself."

"Is there a reason behind the five of you being on the same team? When we send out a team, it is usually made up of people whose specialty coincides with the purpose of the mission. We have no permanent teams. Our operatives are often on undercover missions, and therefore, they are usually alone. We do sometimes send out teams of several operatives, when it is an exploratory mission, though, depending on what it is that needs to be examined."

Jack was surprised at what Lantash told him. He'd figured that the Tok'Ra wouldn't mention anything at all about them, or how they were organized and worked. Well, the man had asked a question, so he should probably answer it. "Actually, our teams are normally all soldiers, though we try to choose those that have studied certain areas. We try to have a linguist and, if possible, an archaeologist on a team. Almost all of them have a scientist of some kind, as well."

"SG-1 is unique in that we have a Jaffa, who is an expert on Goa'uld tactics and their language, as well as being a fount of information about them. Then we have a genius that is a civilian archaeologist, an anthropologist, a very gifted linguist, and who oftentimes steps in as a diplomat, as well. We have a Major who is our scientist, she's also a genius in astrophysics, and is well known for pulling our butts out of the fire in seemingly no win situations, as well as now being Tok'Ra, and myself, a soldier. We're a first contact team. If someone's gonna get shot at, captured and tortured, and/or run out of town at weapon point, it's us." He grinned, as he finished his short bio on the team, and its members, and then added, "Jolinar's not been with us long enough for me to know what her specialties are yet. We know she's great at planning and executing plans for theft and rescue missions, but I'm sure that you know a lot more things she excels at than we do."

Before Lantash could respond, Teal'c chided O'Neill quietly for not announcing his own accomplishments alongside the other team member's specialties, "I believe, O'Neill, that you forgot to mention that you are trained in black ops and are a superb tactician and leader."

Lantash nodded that he understood, and then he smiled at Teal'c, asking, "What is 'black ops'? I must assume it is some type of special training."

"I am not privy to exactly what it entails, as the information as to exactly what those trained in it do is fairly closely guarded. Those who belong to that elite group do not talk about their missions. I believe that each branch of the Tau'ri's military has an elite group of warriors that are trained in this manner. I believe that Major Carter, though she has not been on a mission that uses that training, as far as I am aware, has had some black ops training. She is also a pilot of their aircraft, as is O'Neill."

Jolinar came forward and told him, her pride obvious in her voice, "They are too modest to tell you, Lantash, however, I am not constrained by that, since I have only recently become a member of the Colonel's team. They are the premier team at the SGC and are regarded very highly. I have overheard others speaking of them in tones that border on awe. It seems that they have returned more than once from missions where they were considered lost. I am looking forward to being a part of this team very much."

Lantash nodded his understanding to Jolinar, before turning to O'Neill, and acknowledging their abilities, commenting, "I can see where the make-up of your team affords them the ability to be a formidable entity, Colonel." The fact that there was a civilian with them intrigued him, too. He would have to ask Jolinar and Samantha more about her team and her teammates. Perhaps it would allow Samantha to feel more at ease when she was with them. He could tell that, while she was not overly anxious around them, she was occasionally somewhat nervous. No doubt, she wondered about their relationship and just how 'close' their friendship had been. Well, that was something they would have to explore together before long, but not just yet. He was still hopeful that Jolinar would remember their relationship sooner rather than later.

He brought himself out of his own thoughts, as he realized that the General had joined them. He was, after all, very interested in what their President said about them and their status while they were here.

"The President asked me to extend his greetings to you and Martouf, Lantash, and wanted me to assure you that you are welcome to stay as long as you wish. We almost had to contend with Maybourne. He turned up during my conversation with the President. When the President realized that Maybourne was here demanding access to you, before I reported that we'd captured a 'Goa'uld', he insisted on talking to him. I'm not sure what he said to him, but whatever it was, Maybourne was a very unhappy camper, when he got off the phone. In fact, Maybourne stormed out of my office, after warning me that he would not allow us to be taken over from within by the Goa'uld. I don't think the President was able to convince him of the differences between the Tok'Ra and the Goa'uld anymore than we could. However, that is neither here nor there. The point is that he has granted you diplomatic immunity, too, Lantash, so Maybourne can't get at you. It's too bad we didn't consider that option before, and use it for Jolinar. Live and learn, I guess."

"O'Neill chuckled. "Oh, I don't know, General. The meeting between Jolinar and Maybourne was very entertaining. Their standoff over which of them were of higher rank and should acknowledge the other first was especially amusing, absolutely classic. I thought Maybourne might have a stroke, before it was over. He came really close to losing it. Too bad he didn't; I'd have loved to throw him off the base."

"I watched the video, Colonel. We all have, and I think we would all agree with you. Jolinar put him in his place and handled him superbly."

He turned to Lantash and Martouf, saying, "I hope your stay with us will be pleasant. I look forward to getting to know you and the Tok'Ra in general, better. Your quarters are ready anytime you would like to retire there, and an SF is outside the mess hall and will follow you, so if you have questions either Major Carter or Captain Donovan can answer them for you or get anything that you find you need. Will that be acceptable?"

"Yes, it is much appreciated, General Hammond. We thank you. I would like to go to my quarters, if for no other reason than to know where they are. After that, I will simply spend time with your people and attempt to understand your customs and ways."

General Hammond smiled. "That sounds like a good way to start. Major Carter will show you to your quarters. I'll see you all later."

With a nod of his head, he turned and left the mess hall. Sam turned to Lantash, asking, "Are you and Martouf tired? Would you like to rest for a while?"

"No, we are quite rested, Major Carter. We have been doing a great deal of sleeping, over the last several days, as there was little else to do."

She smiled at him. "Yeah, I imagine you were pretty bored." She stood and picked up her tray. "Come on, let's go familiarize you with your quarters, and then we can decide what you want to do or see next."

"That sounds like a very good plan and is quite acceptable to us."

Lantash bowed his head to the Colonel and Teal'c, as Sam called out a cheery, "See you all later." He followed her and disposed of his tray, as she did. Perhaps now they would begin to get some answers. They could only hope so.

TBC


	14. Memories and Answers Ch 14

_**Chapter Fourteen Summary: **Martouf and Lantash remember Rosha as their memories of her come forward. They discuss their pain over Rosha's loss, and their attraction to Samantha. Four hours after Sam leaves them in their room, she returns with a bottle of wine, and they make themselves comfortable, as Lantash begins to ask some of the questions in his mind about why they left Cronus's court, as well as what happened to her and Rosha, after they left. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host communications _

_**Mer Cariad – **My Dear_

_**Author's Note:** SamMartouf4ever and Brooke thank you for the reviews. They are very much appreciated. That goes for everyone that has reviewed, as I hope you all know._

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Fourteen**_

_**Memories and Answers**_

* * *

As they reached the quarters set aside for Lantash and Martouf, Sam used the key the General gave her and opened the door. She flashed a smile at them, as they entered the room. "It's not all that large, but it pretty much has what you'll need. As you can see, the bed is over there, there is a kitchenette, a sitting area over there, and the bathroom is through this door. The other door is a closet. I think they delivered several sets of BDUs, when they came in to make up the bed and clean, so you should be set for a few days, anyway. They should be hanging in the closet and socks, underwear, and T-shirts are in the dresser over there. They should have stocked personal care products, such as shampoo, body wash, toothpaste, and toothbrush, that sort of thing, in the bathroom. If you need something we haven't provided just let me know, and we'll get it for you, if we can. My room is the next one, if you continue walking on down the hall.

She glanced around once more and another door caught her eye. She'd never paid attention to it in her room, as it was always locked, but now she felt she should mention it, as it would be handy if he needed anything. She cleared her throat, before pointing to it. "The, um, the door over there near the bed is a connecting door between our two rooms. These quarters are sometimes used when we have ambassadors here and they need more than one room. If you need me, I guess you can just knock on that door. It's locked on my side, and it should have a lock on your side, as well. Now, I think that's it…" she stopped talking to consider everything in the room, and then realized that there were several other things they needed to know.

"No, I'm wrong, that isn't everything," she quickly reversed her previous statement. She walked into the kitchenette and motioned him over. Opening the freezer compartment door, she told him, "There are some things in here. It looks like a couple of frozen pizzas and a couple of dishes from the mess hall. They're labeled as to what the contents are, and the instructions for cooking them are on them, but if you have trouble reading it, let me know, and I'll be glad to help translate it for you." She opened the refrigerator door and waved at the contents, saying, "There are drinks, some lunch-meat, and condiments, as well as a few leftovers from the mess hall that aren't frozen. It looks like you also have milk, eggs, and butter."

Next, she opened a few cabinets, and motioned to the things in them, saying, "There are snacks in here along with some other food. The plates, bowls and glasses, are in these cabinets, and the utensils are in this drawer. It looks like they left you bread, cereal, pancake mix, some packaged rice dishes and other canned goods. For snacks there are chips, Tostitos, salsa, peanuts, some chocolate bars, and popcorn, as well as, the good old standby peanut butter and jelly." Seeing his blank look, she explained, "You can make a sandwich using the peanut butter and jelly. You spread the peanut butter on one slice of bread and the jelly on another one and put them together. It's quick and filling; if you're in a hurry or just don't feel like cooking something, it's a fast thing to make. Of course, you can eat all your meals in the mess hall; you don't have to cook at all, if you don't feel like it. These things are here in case you would rather not go down there to eat."

"I showed you the food that's here, but I didn't explain our cooking methods. This is a microwave. It heats and cooks food. So does this; it's a toaster oven. That thing over there is a can opener. This is a hot plate." She grabbed a can and showed him what to do to open it, explained how to use the microwave, the toaster oven, and the hot plate. Leaning down she opened a lower cabinet and told him, "There are a couple of pots and a couple of skillets in this cabinet. You can use them with the hot plate. You can't use them in the microwave because you can't use metal in it, ever. That's something you need to remember. Use the glass containers in the other cabinet for cooking or heating things in the microwave."

She turned slightly, only to find them standing at her shoulder and observing her actions. "Do you think you can manage the appliances? You can always come and get me, or ask the SF at the door, if you have problems."

"I believe that we can operate the appliances. And as you said, you are close enough that we can call you, or our guide, if we forget something. Thank you for showing us these things. Is there anything else that we need to know how to operate?"

Sam frowned, before she nodded. "Yes, there might be. She walked toward the nightstand and picked up the phone. This is how you would call someone." She found a piece of paper that contained important numbers that he might need, and then found a pen and added the number he would need to use to reach her in her lab. "This is the number for my lab. You would pick the receiver up," she demonstrated, as she explained it, "and then push in these numbers just as they are written on this piece of paper. I have a phone in my lab and, after you input the numbers, the matching phone in my lab will ring, indicating that I have a call. I pick up on the other end, and you can talk to me. There is a list of numbers here that you might need. Colonel O'Neill's, Teal'c's, Daniel's, the General's, the mess hall, infirmary, and laundry department, to name some of them for you."

"_You should explain the facilities, Samantha. Ours are very similar, but show them anyway,"_ Jolinar suggested.

"_Okay." _

Walking to the bathroom, she quickly explained how to work the hot and cold water in the shower and the tub, as well as in the sink, and how the toilet operated. "There are towels in that cabinet over there, and as I mentioned, your personal care products should be in there, as well." Finishing that, they returned to the other room, and Sam asked them, "Is there anything that you can think of that you might need that we don't know about?"

Lantash shook his head. "No, thank you, Major Carter, I cannot think of anything at the moment." He paused, before asking, "Do you have something that you need to do now? If so, Martouf and I will be fine here on our own. I can always ask Captain Donovan for anything we might need."

Sam had walked toward the door and reached out to open it, but stopped with her hand on the doorknob, as he asked his question. Looking back at him, she told him her plans, "Jolinar and I have a couple of things we need to do in our lab, and then we'll be free. If you," she shrugged, and it was obvious she was feeling somewhat uncomfortable, or perhaps, shy and unsure of what to say. Still, she continued quietly, "well, you know, if you'd like us to come back, so that you can talk to Jolinar, we should be done in an hour or two. We could…I mean, if you want us to, we could come back then, and you and Jolinar can talk. I'm sure there are questions that you would like to have answered."

Lantash smiled gently. "You are quite right, Major Carter. We do have many questions that we wish to ask Jolinar. We would very much like for you to return here, when you are finished for the day."

Sam nodded. "Okay, I can—we can do that. We'll see you in a couple of hours or so, then."

He bowed his head in response, saying, "We will look forward to seeing you and Jolinar again, Major Cater."

She turned back from the door once more, before she opened it, saying, "Please call me by my name. It seems silly to call me Major Carter, when I feel as if I've known you for a very long time. So, really, don't feel you must be so formal."

"Very well…Samantha. I am afraid that I cannot think of you as a…Sam. You are much too beautiful for us not to use your given name, which is a lovely one. If you do not object, we will call you Samantha."

Sam smiled. This was the first time she'd ever felt that she wouldn't mind someone calling her by her full name. When he said it, it sounded…really nice. She nodded her agreement. "All right. That's fine. I—we'll see you after while then."

"Very well, Samantha, we will look forward to it."

Murmuring good-bye and giving him another rather tentative smile, she opened the door and slipped out.

"_Well, Martouf, I believe that I will take a very quick shower. We have much to consider and discuss. Are you feeling better?" _

Martouf sighed, and Lantash could feel guilt wash through him. _ "What is the matter, Martouf? Why are you feeling this way?" _

"_I," _he stopped suddenly, before finding the strength to admit his feelings to his Lifemate. Clearing his throat, even though he was not speaking aloud, he tried again, saying, _"Lantash, I do not understand my feelings. I loved Rosha, and yet, I do not feel that I am mourning her, as deeply as I should. Why would I feel this way? What has happened to me?" _

Lantash nodded in understanding. _"You feel that you are betraying her because your grief is not as deep as it was months ago, when they declared them dead. I gave this thought, as soon as I realized that we were very attracted to Samantha. I believe that the reason we are not mourning quite as deeply now, as we did before, and as we would expect to, is because we accepted, at least in part, over six months ago that she and Jolinar could very well be gone from us. Because of that, we have already mourned in some ways. There is also the fact, whether we like to admit it or not, that she has been gone for over three years. We have, with her being declared dead as well as being gone from us, become accustomed to being without her. For us, this is simply a continuation of that circumstance. We love her still, and we always will; however, we are also ready to work towards accepting a new mate. I do not believe that there is any reason for you or I to feel guilt." _

He paused before continuing, "_When you first heard it declared that she had passed from us, your grief was overwhelming, Martouf. You have recovered from the initial wave of emotions more quickly than you believe you should have; however, I felt your grief, and I do not think you need to worry about what you feel. It is normal in the circumstances." _

He waited a moment before reminding him, "_Although you have not experienced it, this is not unusual for a Tok'Ra. Often, we find that our mate has a new host, and we must adjust quickly. There is a need to accept the new mate fairly quickly. You are being influenced by my emotions concerning this, as well. I know that it is important that we accept our new mate swiftly, for soon Jolinar will begin to share her feelings for us with her. It is a thing that we, the Tok'Ra, have become accustomed to doing through our many years. We never forget or lose the love we feel for the previous mate, however, we do move forward fairly swiftly to become known to, and to know, our new mate. It is needed in order to be with the remaining mate. It is this need to accept our new mate that can sometimes cause feelings of guilt over the previous one, especially in the host. Please, try not to feel this guilt. You are now, and you will continue to, mourn Rosha, for a long time. The fact that you are not devastated by this is nothing of which to be ashamed. And as I said, there has already been some mourning for her. I assure you again; your reactions are normal." _

He changed the subject, by pointing out,_ "We are lucky that Jolinar has a female host. As you are well aware, it could be much worse, and since we both prefer women as mates, we would have to give up our intimate relationship with Jolinar had she become male."_

Martouf shuddered at the thought of having to give Jolinar up, as well. _"Perhaps you are correct. It does make sense, when you explain it in that way," _Martouf agreed, after giving Lantash's words some thought. _"I will take control now, so that you can allow yourself to mourn for her. I can take our shower for us, while you have time to yourself._"

Lantash relaxed and smiled slightly. _"I thank you, Martouf. It would be very much appreciated, if you would do so. I must confess that, although, like you, I am not mourning, as deeply as I did, the confirmation of her death is still affecting me greatly. I would appreciate very much the time to remember her and mourn her passing, so that I can allow her to become a much beloved memory." _

Martouf walked into the bathroom. _"You may take all the time that you need. I will take care of our needs, while you do so." _

"_Thank you," _Lantash's response floated softly through his mind.

Martouf stripped out of his 'BDUs' and leaned into the shower to adjust the water temperature. While he liked the water quite warm, sometimes even as warm as he could stand it, Lantash preferred it a medium warm to warm, more towards cool than hot. It had made for interesting compromises through the years. Today, he would set the water more towards the medium warm end, as he felt that Lantash needed the soothing feeling more than he did, at the moment.

While waiting for the water to warm, he searched the cabinet and came up with something called body wash and another called shampoo. The shampoo appeared to be for the hair, and the other, of course, for the body. He set them into the shower and, after checking that the water was the correct temperature, he stepped into the steady streams. Using the odd round ball that Samantha had pointed out to him, as the washing implement, he wet it and poured some of the body wash onto it. Once it was lathered, he proceeded to cleanse his body. He found that he rather liked the little round ball. It lathered, scrubbed, and then rinsed very well, and no doubt, it dried without needing anything done to it other than being in the air. Perhaps, they could talk Samantha and Jolinar into bringing some back to the tunnels or sending some with him and Lantash, if they returned without them.

After hanging it on the small hook in the shower, he then used the shampoo and quickly washed his hair, following the instructions to rinse and repeat. He turned the water temperature up just a little more and simply stood under it enjoying the feeling of the water washing away the lather and dirt from his body and hair. He then turned the temperature to cool, as they both liked the feeling of cool water after they bathed, unless the air temperature was too cool; however, they stayed in it only briefly.

Stepping out of the shower, Martouf grabbed a nearby towel. It was large, fluffy, soft, and smelled very good. He dried his body quickly, and then found a comb for his hair, so that he could take care of that. Lantash controlled his facial hair, so that was not something he had to contend with, and he was thankful for that. He had always hated shaving, but he had hated having a beard more.

Moving back into the main room, he searched through the dresser's drawers, found, and donned what he believed the Tau'ri called 'underwear' or 'briefs'. When they first gave them clothing other than the 'scrubs', while they were still in the infirmary, Dr. Fraiser explained the use of the 'underwear' or 'briefs', as she realized they were not familiar with them. Their own clothing was a loss, but no doubt, they realized that they wore no 'underwear', when they undressed them. He shrugged and pulled a black short-sleeved T-shirt over his head and settled it across his chest before walking to the closet and pulling out a clean set of BDUs. After pulling on socks, he lay down on the bed and relaxed before tuning into Lantash's thoughts.

He immediately recognized the memory that Lantash was thinking about and reliving. He was remembering the day they joined with Jolinar and Rosha; the day they formally became mates. Thanks to Lantash's tactile memory, he could feel her in their arms as they kissed her after they said their vows. He could feel the softness of her lips and smell the fragrance that was solely hers, hers and Jolinar's. He saw her lean back in their arms and smile at them, her eyes telling them she loved them, even as her lips spoke the words. Rosha had been very lovely that day…but then, Rosha was a beautiful woman. Samantha Carter had similar coloring and was just as beautiful, in her own way, as Rosha was.

Pushing that thought aside, he rejoined Lantash in his memories. They followed one after another, floating through Lantash's mind, bringing both pain longing, as well as gratitude that they had known this wonderful woman. Much as he had done earlier, Lantash brought memories forward, some of which Martouf had forgotten, until Lantash brought them out and perused them. He watched Rosha as she went about their daily duties. He saw her as she and Jolinar argued with the council over some decision they were making. He smiled softly, as he saw her laughing at something one of her friends said to her. He saw her walking through some ruins, looking pensive and sad. He saw her crying over the loss of yet another symbiote and host, as they were sent into the Chaappa'ai for the final time, and over a child that the Jaffa shot down in a street, as they took her parents as slaves.

He saw her angry, enraged, and furious, content, happy, and overjoyed. He saw her thoughtful, laughing, crying, irate, and raging. He watched as she became excited, exuberant, and enthusiastic. He watched as she showed her arrogance, pride, and disdain, as she intimidated some Jaffa. He watched her be polite, rude, caring, cruel, kind, uncaring, gentle, and rough. He recognized her in her roles as a commoner, and as a System Lord. He saw her leaving them on yet another mission. And lastly, he saw her smiling at them, as they leaned in to kiss her. He watched the teasing light come into her eyes, as she leaned down to tempt their lips with hers. He saw them embrace, as if they would never let each other go; this he saw over and over again.

He saw them, as they sat beside her, as she lie near death, after her escape from Netu. He remembered how she avoided talking about what happened, refusing to discuss it with anyone. She was different, after she returned from that ordeal. She often seemed to be far away in her thoughts, and the look in her eyes was often tormented. He remembered how she would scream out in her sleep, and the many nights there were tears on her cheeks, as she dreamed. They tried, but they never managed to break through the barrier she erected between them. Jolinar kept her emotions about it just as guarded; however, she did not seem as changed as Rosha by whatever happened, even though, she, too, refused to discuss any part of it. They had not pushed either of them, believing that eventually they would wish to confide in them. They never did.

They left on another long-term mission within a few months of their regaining their health and strength. He heard the arguments they had about them taking another long-term mission. He watched their disagreements escalate, until they came to the point where one, or the other, of them would have to leave, so that they did not do something they knew they would regret. They wanted her to take no more missions, no more chances where it was very possible, even probable that they would not return. They never resolved their conflict, and it was there between them all the time.

He watched, as they stood on the beach on the world of Marloon the night before she left on what would prove to be her final mission. Rosha's hair was free, and the breeze caused it to flutter around her face, as they stood together in the last fading rays of the sunset. It bathed her in golden-red light, enhancing her beauty and leaving her looking ethereal. They spent the entire night awake simply being together. Just before daylight broke, she looked at them, for what would prove to be the last time. The look of love, sorrow, and regret in her eyes was almost beyond bearing. She reached for them and caressed their face, finally smiling sadly before kissing them one last time. As beautiful as their last night together was, it was still there, unspoken until the last, when they could no longer refrain from once more asking them not to go on the mission. Not to leave them again. They parted with the request and their continued refusal between them.

He could feel the anguish in Lantash, as he allowed his memories to surface. This was the Tok'Ra's way. One experienced the memories and grieved for the lost one. Of course, they had done this several times, since Rosha and Jolinar were declared dead, but now, it was as if the wound was ripped open leaving it raw, and exquisitely painful. However, he noted that Lantash's pain, like his, though still sharp, was muted compared to the almost unbearable pain they endured when they were declared dead. This pain was manageable, bearable; more like a wound that was reopened, not one freshly made. True it hurt, and there was an empty place where she used to live, but thoughts of her being gone no longer threatened to take them to their knees and stop their breath. They would miss her. They still felt guilt and regret at the way they parted. Thank the Goddess, Jolinar returned to them, safe and well. That was helping both of them to find solace, even through their grief over the woman they had both loved and now mourned.

Martouf finally pulled away from Lantash's thoughts. After all, he had gone through this process himself within the past few hours. So, rather than seeing Rosha's face, he turned his thoughts to Samantha Carter. What was she like, this new host of Jolinar's, he wondered? Was she, as Lantash feared, impulsive, and willing to take dangerous risks? Or would they find her to be a calming and more cautious influence on Jolinar? He could only hope for the latter. He sighed. Perhaps, if she stayed with the Tau'ri, she would give up long dangerous missions. From what he had gleaned so far, the Tau'ri did not infiltrate, as the Tok'Ra did, which meant that they did not do those types of missions at all. Of course, they appeared to do more one on one actual combat than the Tok'Ra did, so there was that danger instead.

As he sighed again, he felt Lantash leave his own thoughts and rejoin him. _"Are you all right, Martouf?"_

"_Yes, I am fine, Lantash. I feel better after sharing your memories of Rosha. And, too, I believe you are correct about the passage of time being the reason that they are less painful, as well as, why we can look at Samantha and find her very attractive. As you say, she is now our mate, and we need to put the past in the past and leave it there. It is time to move forward." _

"_Yes," _Lantash agreed, though his sigh was still laced with a thread of sadness. Then, as if physically turning away from that past, he told Martouf, _"You are correct, and Samantha is very beautiful; however, I believe that we will also find that she is very intelligent and knowledgeable in her own right. She will find Jolinar's knowledge fascinating, I am quite sure."_

After some thought, Martouf replied, _"Yes, I believe that you are correct. I'm sure there are many surprises in store for us in the near future."_

"_She has been gone much longer than she anticipated. It has been almost four hours, so I imagine she will be returning to us soon. I am anxious to find out what happened to keep Jolinar from returning to us for so long." _

Martouf frowned even as he nodded his agreement. "_I, too, wish to know what kept her away from us and the base, as well as being out of contact with everyone, for so many months." _

As a knock was heard on the door, Lantash responded, "_I believe we are about to get our wish, Martouf. I imagine this is Samantha and Jolinar. We will soon know what happened to her, after she left Cronus's court." _

Martouf reached the door and opened it to see Sam standing outside. She had showered and changed her clothing. She was in some type of form-fitting blue…leggings, he guessed…and a T-shirt that clung to her curves. All he could do was stare at her. "Hello. May we come in? Is something wrong? Are we too early? We can come back later, if this isn't a convenient time," Sam sounded anxious, as she questioned him.

Lantash took control from the stunned Martouf, telling her, "No, you are not too early at all. Please…do come in. You look lovely, Samantha." He led her over to a small sofa, saying, "Will you not sit down and talk to us? Would you like something to drink?"

Sam sat down, curling one leg underneath her and angling her body, so that she was facing the other end of the sofa. She looked up and smiled at him, even as she reached for the bag she brought with her. Reaching into it, she pulled out a bottle of wine. "Do you like wine? I thought that, if you did, then perhaps we could share a glass and start to become acquainted, and, um, I guess, reacquainted in the case of Jolinar."

Lantash smiled back, as he felt Martouf's relief. He had now recovered from his initial surprise at seeing Samantha out of uniform. What a magnificent form she had. It was a very pleasant surprise; the uniforms hid it very well. He bowed his head and stepped back allowing Martouf to return and take control. He looked up and nodded to her, saying, "I will see what we have in the way of glasses. Excuse me."

Sam nodded her agreement, and turned back to the bag she'd set on the floor, at her side. Reaching into it again, she brought out a plate of cheese and a package of crackers. Knowing it was still a little early to snack, since they ate lunch only a few hours ago, she got up and put it in the small refrigerator for later. The General told them to take the rest of the day and spend it with Lantash and Martouf, so after she finished in the lab, they returned to their room, showered, pampered themselves a little bit, tried on several different choices of clothes, fixed the cheese plate, and grabbed a couple bottles of wine.

Two hours longer than they expected to return, but here they were. Neither of them was sure why they felt so nervous, but they did. It wasn't like they were in a romantic relationship with them…both of them frowned at that thought…at least, not that Jolinar could remember. And she _did_ seem to remember that she, well, they, had mates, so…they should not be in so much of a tizzy over spending an evening with an old friend. Firmly pushing those thoughts away, Sam reseated herself on the sofa, just as she heard Martouf exclaim that he found the glasses.

Sam grinned at him and handed him a corkscrew and the bottle of wine, as he handed her the glasses. Within a very short space of time, he had the first one opened and proceeded to pour it into the glasses for each of them.

Sam took the glass he handed to her, saying, "Thank you. I hope it's acceptable. Now that Jolinar's remembered you, she seems to know quite a bit about you and your likes and dislikes. She said she was pretty sure that you would like this wine."

Martouf sipped it, and then smiled. "She is correct. It is quite good. Thank you for thinking of it."

Sam shrugged, as she told him, "I like to have a glass of wine sometimes in the evening. Since we have the remainder of the day off and tomorrow is Saturday, there isn't any reason not to enjoy some with a friend." Seeing the question in his eyes, she elaborated, "We're off work some weekends, and Saturday is the start of the weekend. It's made up of Saturday and Sunday. Sometimes we work, if there is something we want to keep an eye on or do, and sometimes we are off world over the weekend, but for the most part, our weekends are free. Of course, unless we make special arrangements, we're all on call in case something comes up that we need to handle."

"Do you enjoy going off world and hunting down the Goa'uld?"

Sam was surprised at the question, until she realized that they really knew very little about the Tau'ri and the SGC. "Well, we don't actually go looking for the Goa'uld, Martouf. We tend to run into them on a fairly regular basis, but we don't actively hunt them down. Mostly, at the moment, we are exploring the Universe, trying to find technology to help us protect Earth and allies that are also fighting the Goa'uld. A side effect of that is that we're learning about other cultures and people. We did blow up Apophis's ships, when he was set to attack earth, and we did kill Ra, but until we have better defenses and capabilities, we aren't on the offense." She grimaced, and then said fiercely, "We will be, though, and hopefully it won't be very much longer."

"I see. For some reason, I thought that you were actively fighting them."

Sam sighed, as she gave his comment some thought. Finally deciding what she could say, she explained, "Well, in a way, we are. Anytime we come into contact with them, we do what we can to decrease their population, if it's at all feasible. We just aren't actively going after System Lords or going out searching for them, at this time. I doubt it stays that way much longer, though."

Deciding it was time for a change of subject, she said, "I suspect you want to talk to Jolinar, don't you? I'm sure you have a lot of questions that she can answer for you."

Martouf gave her an almost shy smile, replying, "We do wish to talk to Jolinar, Samantha; however, we also wish to learn about and become…friends…with you."

Sam nodded. "Fair enough, but I think that your questions for Jolinar are probably more pressing than getting to know me, for now, so I'm turning this over to her. I'll talk to you later."

"As you wish. Lantash and I will look forward to it."

Both of them bowed their heads, and their symbiotes took control. Looking up and over at her, Lantash smiled, before telling her, "It is very good to see you Jolinar. While we do mourn Rosha, we are overjoyed that you are still with us."

She returned his smile, telling him, "I understand. I still mourn for Rosha, too, even though several months have passed." Then she brightened, saying, "I am now able to keep busy enough that I no longer dwell on it; however, when I do think of her, there is an ache in my heart, but it is no longer a raw, throbbing wound."

Lantash indicated that he understood, before telling her, "You and Rosha were declared missing and presumed dead a little over six months ago. We mourned then, but evidently we kept some small ember of hope alive, and finding you alive has caused us immense joy." He frowned, and then added sadly, "Of course, the pain of knowing that Rosha is indeed gone from us has been deep. I will admit that it is not as sharp and raw, as it was when you were first declared deceased, but none the less, it is still very much there."

He paused, before saying quietly, "We would like to know what occurred. If you can remember, then we really would like to know."

Jolinar nodded, before taking another drink and laying her head back against the sofa. "It is a very unhappy tale, Lantash, and a simple, yet devastating one. To put it bluntly, we were betrayed to Cronus and barely made it off his homeworld. Rosha was wounded during our escape, but not fatally. That came later. Cronus sent both Jaffa and an Ashrak after us. Although Rosha's wound was not fatal, it was severe, and it took time to heal. The Jaffa managed to follow us closely, for almost two weeks, after we first escaped, so we were afraid to attempt to return to the base. They found us even on what should have been a safe world. That they were there, when there was no reason for them to be on that world, led me to believe that not only had I been betrayed, but so had many of the addresses of the worlds we considered _safe_."

Lantash frowned, "But, how did Cronus's informant know about them, Jolinar? That we use those worlds is known only to the Tok'Ra and a few contacts. This means that one of our most trusted contacts is a traitor to us. The council should be informed at once."

He sighed, but before Jolinar could tell him more about the informant, he told her, "We will come back to this; however, first tell us more of what happened to you that you did not contact us for so long. You have been out of contact with the base for almost a year now. We know that you were still with Cronus for a few months of that time and assumed that you could not get a message out for fear of discovery. Evidently, that occurred anyway."

Jolinar agreed that it would be better to tell the rest of her story, before she broke the reality of the informant to him. "Very well. I will finish my story, before we explore who the informant could be."

Lifting her head from where it was resting on the back of the sofa, Jolinar sat up straighter and uncurled her leg from underneath her, so that it would not become numb, before she continued, "We managed to leave a false trail and get back to the gate, before they realized it. Still, I did not feel comfortable returning to the base with them managing to follow us so closely. We moved to several different worlds, until we felt that, surely, they had not managed to follow us. As soon as Rosha was healed, we left for yet another safe world. We were not there for very long, when both the Jaffa and the Ashrak arrived. At one point, we were close enough to the Jaffa that we could hear them talking. That is how I know, for a fact, that they were looking for us. I also heard the names of the next two worlds they were to check, if they did not find us on this one. I still do not know how we managed to leave without them getting close enough to harm us, but we did. We had been hiding for almost a month by then." She paused, and then murmured, almost as if to herself, "Every time I considered going to the base, it seemed that Jaffa or the Ashrak appeared."

She looked at Lantash, after lifting her eyes from staring into her glass of wine, as if it had the answers to the questions of the universe. "We went to another of our safe worlds, and again, they turned up within a few days. I think it was about six weeks after my rather precipitate exit from Cronus's homeworld, that the Ashrak caught up to us, yet again, and this time Rosha was fatally wounded. I managed to get to yet another so-called safe world and from there to a world that was not on our list of safe worlds."

She stopped speaking, and then said softly, "It was an old world of Egeria's that has been deserted for many centuries…or so I believed." She frowned in concentration, as she realized that some information pertaining to that world was also missing. _"Samantha, do not allow me to forget this bit of information. I have no idea why, but it is very important." _

"_Got it, Jol. I'll remember. You better return to, um, Lantash. I think he's wondering why you aren't continuing with your story." _

"_Thank you. I will do as you suggest." _

Finishing her short conversation with Sam, she continued to relate what occurred, after she left Cronus's Court, "As I was saying, it was a very old world of Egeria's. A group of hunters from another world were the only people that we saw, while we were there. One of them found Rosha and I. She insisted on explaining who and what we were. Oddly enough, he was not appalled, but rather almost awed. As it turned out, there were people still living on this world, and he knew some of them. He was aware of their legends…legends about Egeria and her offspring. He offered to become my host. I accepted and we disintegrated Rosha's body, so that, if the Jaffa or Ashrak did suddenly turn up, they would not find her. As it turned out, they did not turn up, while we were still there anyway."

"After the hunting trip ended, we returned to his homeworld. He explained that the descendants of Egeria's people did not live near the Chaappa'ai, but a very long distance away from it. Since Jaffa rarely travel a great distance from the Gate, they felt that they were safer there. I am quite sure that they were probably correct in their assumption." She paused, and it was not until Lantash cleared his throat that she returned from her own thoughts.

She looked up and gave him a small smile, before saying, quietly, "I apologize. I am afraid my thoughts wandered. I have often wondered if the Jaffa or the Ashrak ever did go there. I sincerely hope that they did not and, if they did, I hope that they did not go far enough to find the people who live there."

She returned to the subject at hand, stating, "However, to continue. I agreed to allow him to become my host with the understanding that we would find another host for me, as soon as possible. For one thing, he did not want to become a Tok'Ra soldier. He was simply offering to help me to survive, until I could find someone that would fit into the Tok'Ra and our lives. I explained that I was being hunted, and that they _would_ find me. I kept encouraging and urging him to leave and look for a new host; however, he insisted that it would cause suspicion of him, if he left before the next trading period, when many would leave by the Chaappa'ai. At that time, no one would question his absence."

"I now believe that, either he did not believe me, or he believed that they could not find me there. Whichever it was, he was wrong. I do not know any of the time frames precisely, as I often lost track, but about six to eight months after Rosha died, the Ashrak located me. He took one of the Nasyans as a host. I have never known for sure whether he called in the attack on the village, or if it was coincidence that he found me, at the same time that it was attacked. Ironically, both of our hosts were badly injured. My host was injured too badly for me to save him. Even had I been at full strength, I could not have managed to do so."

"Another coincidence came about during the attack on the village. The Tau'ri were visiting the Nasyans, when the attack occurred, and they evacuated as many of the villagers as they could here to their world. Those that were injured, which were many, were taken to one of their medical facilities. That is where the Ashrak was placed; however, even though his host was badly burned, he was strong enough to heal him and escape detection."

Jolinar paused before she began the next part of the story. Lantash would be furious with her; she knew that much about him. She had broken the highest law of the Tok'Ra, when she took her Sam as her host, or so he would believe. If she was remembering correctly, Lantash was very adamant about that law being stuck to completely. So was Martouf. There was no wiggle room in their eyes. She frowned, as she had flashes of him in a rage. It was an awesome sight. How did she know these things about him and his host? There was no doubt that, at some point in time, they were very close indeed. They might not be her mates, but at one time they were intimate…she would swear to that. Well, there was nothing she could do about his reaction. He would just have to 'get over it', as Sam would say.

Taking a deep breath, she began the remainder of the story, telling them, "I blended with Samantha, because she had her mouth over my host's mouth, and I assumed that she was offering to become my host. Had the situation been less confusing and chaotic, I would have realized that was not possible. As it was, I did not realize that, until it was much too late, and so, I found myself with a very upset and very unwilling host. One who would listen to nothing I had to say or tried to tell her." She heard the gasp and watched as he straightened himself, until he was stiff and unmoving. She ignored him and continued with her story, "I attempted to leave the SGC, before the Ashrak could find me. I knew that he would assume I would take a Tau'ri host and continue to look for me among them."

"If I had been able to leave, I would have returned to another world, and then, finally, I would have gone to the base, regardless. I felt that I could elude the Ashrak long enough to see to it that the base was moved and the traitor taken into custody…that would take care of that problem." Jolinar sighed and shook her head. "I had already argued with myself for weeks, as to what course to follow, wondering if I should have gone to the base whether I led the Jaffa and Ashrak to it or not. There is no point in second guessing my decisions now."

"And to resume my story once again; at least this time, I had hopes that the Tau'ri would find and dispose of the Ashrak. Unfortunately, I was apprehended, before I could leave the SGC and, of course, I was incarcerated. Samantha still refused to listen to me, and it was not until I finally gave her control that she began to listen. Up until then, I kept control. I could not allow her to tell them I was there, previous to them realizing it. I still had hopes of escaping to the Tok'Ra base and finding a host to take Samantha's place. All of that is neither here nor there. Once we were in a holding cell, and I allowed her control, she began to listen to what I was telling her. We started to converse; I explained who and what we were, and why I blended with her, as well as, why it was imperative that I return to the Tok'Ra base, as soon as possible. We were coming to understand one another and form a plan, when the Ashrak found us there. Of course, we had no weapon or any way at all to fight him, so I determined to try to at least save my Sam."

She became aware of Sam sputtering to her,_ "Jolinar, you tell Lantash that I said to get that poker out of his ass and relax. I'm not going to allow him to be nasty to you, so you might as well warn him now. If he doesn't like it that is just too damn bad." _

Glancing over at him and his unrelenting posture, as well as his hard, cold, eyes, and tight lips, she had to smile. He looked the very picture of outrage. She assured Sam,_ "Do not worry, Mer Cariad. His ranting will not bother me. We know what happened was a misunderstanding and miscommunication, and that my subsequent behavior was from fault on both sides. His words will be just that…words." _

"_Well…okay, but you tell him that he won't be making any points with me, if he chastises you for something that wasn't your fault." _

Jolinar smiled at Lantash, which caused his face to look even more as if it had been carved in stone. It was all she could do not to laugh at him, but she kept her voice as neutral as she could, as she assured him, "Yes, Lantash, I am aware that you have many scathing, nasty, insulting, and condemning things to say to me about taking an unwilling host; however, you must wait until I finish. You wanted to hear this story, so hear it you will."

"_Give me control, Jol." _

"_Sam, that is not necessary."_

"_Yes, it is. I want control." _

Jolinar sighed deeply. _"All right, but do not burn any bridges. I believe that they are good friends of mine, ours now, and those are sometimes hard to come by." _

"_Don't worry." _

Her eyes glowed and Sam came fore. She sat quietly and looked at him. He stared back at her, obviously unsure of what this meant. She finally spoke to him, "If I was you, I think I'd try to relax. You're going to give yourself a migraine and a stiff neck and back. You also might crack your teeth, if you don't stop clamping them together so hard. I could say more, but since you are a friend of Jolinar's…"

She returned control to Jolinar, without waiting for an answer from him. He blinked at them, as if he wasn't sure that Sam had come fore and talked to him.

Jolinar pretended that nothing happened and proceeded from where she left off, "Now, as I was saying, the Ashrak found us and proceed to attempt to torture us to death. I protected Samantha, as well as I could, and I believe that she would have survived, even if I died, because it was she who saved my life. Actually, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c made it possible, for both of us to survive, as they finally realized that I was not lying, and there was an Ashrak looking for me. Teal'c convinced them that he was an elite assassin, and that he _would_ find and kill us, something I had told them numerous times. So, they arrived just as we lost consciousness, and they killed the Ashrak."

"Teal'c swept Samantha and I into his arms and ran to the infirmary, where Dr. Fraiser did everything she could to save Samantha. I do not know how she did it, but somehow my Sam managed to reach consciousness long enough to tell Janet, Dr. Fraiser, to save me, if it was at all possible. Realizing that Samantha knew something they did not, or she would not have made that request, Janet did everything that she could and so, we both survived."

"I will tell you the remainder of the story, when you are finished berating me and being generally pompous, arrogant, and unpleasant, which I can tell you are about to be. I should warn you that Samantha will not take kindly to your anger, at all, and that it is very possible that you will alienate her, for quite some time to come, if you allow your rather formidable temper to take over."

Jolinar smiled at him, as he glowered at her, obviously frustrated by her remarks about Sam's probable reaction, which her own words to him were reinforcing. He had no desire to antagonize their new mate. Of course, Jolinar and Samantha did not know they were their mates, which made the entire situation even more impossible. He growled in exasperation and displeasure and continued to scowl at them. Jolinar's look was full of sympathy at his dilemma. Her sympathy, however, was _not_ appreciated.

TBC


	15. In Retrospect Ch 15 AAOF

_**Chapter Fifteen Summary: **Sam tells Martouf and Lantash about the day that she and Jolinar blended, the circumstance surrounding it, and the emotions engendered by it. Jolinar has another very brief flash of Martouf, Lantash, Rosha, and herself lying naked and entwined on a blanket under the stars. Martouf and Lantash discuss what happened to them, both with each other and with Sam and Jolinar. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host communication _

_**Cariad kea – **Dear one_

_**Mer Prinekh – **My Lifemate – A more intimate usage. A term of endearment used between Symbiote and Host._

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Fifteen**_

_**In Retrospect**_

* * *

"_Lantash, perhaps I should take control, for a time. I believe that there is more to this story than we realize. If you will notice, Samantha is not angry, and Jolinar appears quite lighthearted and unconcerned by our reactions. Perhaps we overreacted somewhat or missed some pertinent information. Let us hear what they have to say before we say anything, which we later might well come to regret." _

Lantash reined in his temper. He could feel the extreme tension in their body. _"As you wish, Martouf. It is possible that you are correct, and we have missed something; however, at the moment, I am too wounded, disillusioned, disappointed, and angry at Jolinar over her actions to think clearly."_ After allowing his Lifemate to come fore, Lantash felt their shared body relax, as Martouf took control. Perhaps he was correct in his speculations. It was true that Jolinar and Samantha did not appear to be upset; instead, they seemed to be quite unconcerned by what occurred between them, and it was blaringly obvious that Samantha was not resentful or angry. He found it most strange, but he found his temper cooling, as he gave more of his attention to their behavior and facial expressions, and less attention to what he and Martouf believed Jolinar said during her recitation of events.

Sam was grinning, as Jolinar returned control to her, and she watched the two across from her, as Martouf came fore. His body language became much more relaxed and open, showing her that, he was probably ready to listen to what they had to say now. She cocked her head, as she sent him a questioning look, a quirky smile remaining from her grin, and still lingering upon her lips. There was no doubt that she wasn't the least upset over what had occurred between her and Jolinar.

Martouf responded to her silent enquiry and expression, saying, "Lantash and I must assume that there is more to the story, than what we have so far heard. It is quite apparent that you are not resentful or angry with Jolinar. If she truly and deliberately, with intent, took you against your will, I do not believe that you would have remained her host. Neither, or so it appears to us, would you appear so calm about it—nor so amused at our obvious confusion and puzzlement about your reactions—and what occurred between the two of you. We would like to understand, if you would not mind explaining this to us."

Sam's smile grew, as she listened to Jolinar, _"If I am remembering correctly, and I do believe that I am, Martouf has always been the more diplomatic of the two of them. Lantash has not the patience to smooth or soothe troubled waters."_

"_Yes, I can see that in their reactions. I believe that Martouf was just as upset at first, though. He's pushed his first reaction aside and begun to think about our actions and the way we interact; he realizes that there is a discrepancy somewhere between what they believe we said, and our actions and reactions. He's realized that they've missed something and is ready to listen to the entire story now. At least, that is my impression." _

"_Exactly. Lantash has always accused me of being rash and reckless; he says that I never think things through." _ She sniffed in disdain, complaining to Sam, _"I believe he does what you would say is 'the pot calling the kettle black'." _

Sam laughed aloud, and then had to explain to Martouf, "I'm sorry. I was laughing at a comment of Jolinar's about a black kettle." She laughed again, as she saw his bewilderment. "Remind me some other time, and I'll explain that comment. Lantash will no doubt not appreciate it, but I believe that you will."

She leaned forward and poured them another glass of wine, then looked at Martouf. "Would you and Lantash like another glass of wine, Martouf?"

He nodded. "Yes, if you would be so kind, Samantha, I believe that I would."

After returning the bottle to the table, she settled back and got comfortable, before saying, "I think that both you and Lantash missed a sentence of Jolinar's explanation, or perhaps, you overlooked and disregarded it in your horror at her other statements."

She paused, taking a sip of her wine, before telling them, "We are all instructed in what we call 'first aid'. It's exactly what it says. It's aid given to someone who is hurt or ill before fully trained medical personnel are available. One of the techniques that we're taught is called CPR, which is the abbreviation for Cardiopulmonary resuscitation. We're taught how to slow blood loss, place a splint on a broken bone…oh, just all kinds of things. Anyway, I would like for you to remember CPR, and keep it in mind because it is very important to my explanation as to how I became, at least at first, Jolinar's…rather unwilling and unhappy…host."

Martouf could tell that she was gathering and sorting her thoughts and memories, so he sat silent and patiently waited for her to begin, which she did, saying, "You have to remember and picture the scene. We, meaning SG-1, had just arrived on this world, and we suddenly found ourselves in the middle of an attack by death gliders. Daniel redialed the SGC and sent the code; then we started sending the villagers through to our base, as quickly as we could. The death gliders were firing on the village and the villagers making pass after pass. There were low-flying gliders, almost constant explosions, and screaming, hysterical villagers, shouted instructions, bodies falling as people were hit and blown off their feet, and general confusion everywhere, as we attempted to get the people to safety on Earth. The villagers were disoriented, panic stricken, and terrified. There were injured people that needed help to get to the Stargate. It was total pandemonium and chaos everywhere you looked."

Sam paused again, this time as the memories assailed her. She shook her head, at the memories, and returned to recounting more of what took place that day, "We had most of the people, both uninjured and injured, through the gate, when I saw a man get hit and fall. The attack was increasing in intensity. I ran back to help him anyway. He stopped breathing, as I reached him, but he still had a pulse, so he was still alive. I decided to do CPR, so I knelt by his head and started helping him breathe." She looked them squarely in the eyes, as she repeated what she'd just told them, "I started helping him to breathe. There is only one way to do that. A simplified explanation is that you place your mouth over theirs, prevent your air from escaping through their nose, and force air into their lungs."

She looked at them expectantly and wasn't surprised to see Martouf staring at her, with a look of shock on his face, before he blurted out, "The Tok'Ra blend through the mouth using a movement that appears to be a kiss. Jolinar thought you were offering to be her new host." His look of enlightenment dimmed, and he frowned, before he continued, "But she should have asked you before she leapt into you. She should not have simply assumed that was what you were doing."

"Really," Sam drawled, at her sarcastic best. "Don't be an idiot, Martouf, you _are_ smarter than that. We were in the middle of an attack. There were explosions all around us. Her host was _dying_. My commanding officer was _screaming_ for me to get to the gate." She looked at him in exasperation and shook her head at him, before asking, "Do you honestly believe there was time for the niceties? Do you really think I would have been able to hear and understand what she was saying to me or asking me? I would have assumed it was the injured man talking to me, and I would have told him that I would help him to the gate. I would have told him that he could do it, that he could make it, which Jolinar would have seen as an affirmative to her question, since she wouldn't have realized what I meant, any more than I would have understood her. She still would have thought I was offering to host her and made the exchange. If, that is, either of us could have managed to even think clearly enough to question each other at all."

She shook her head again, and then continued, "None of those hypothetical questions and statements pertain to the situation anyway. Trust me; there was no time to do any of that. There was so much panic, screaming, weapon's fire, and chaos around us, neither of us, had the positions been reversed, would have had our wits about us enough to do so, even if there had been time to be either so thoughtful or so polite, which there absolutely was _not_."

This time when she stopped speaking, she sighed. "So, Jolinar caught me by the back of my head to hold me steady and moved to me. Colonel O'Neill finally reached me; at about the time that Jolinar realized I wasn't offering to host her. She was looking away from him when she took control, so he didn't see her eyes glow. Her former host died the moment she left him, so she simply told the Colonel that he was dead, and he grabbed us and pulled us toward the Stargate. We were the last ones through."

"Jolinar was disoriented when we arrived at the SGC. All she really knew at that point was that I was furious and hysterical. She was in a military installation on a world with which she wasn't familiar. She just stood on the ramp, for a few minutes, until someone got her attention. She pulled herself together enough to begin going through my memories, in order to figure out where she was, and what she could do about her mistake. It took very little time for her to discover what she needed to know. She was on the world of the Tau'ri. We knew nothing about the Tok'Ra. In fact, she realized that we had never even heard any rumors about them."

"She tried to talk to me, to calm me down and explain what happened, but I refused to listen to anything she said to me. I didn't believe anything she told me. When she tried to talk to me, I would scream at her, instead of allowing her to talk to me. I sang constantly to annoy her. I threw every curse I knew at her and called her every nasty name I could remember. I wouldn't answer any questions. In short, I was the host from hell. She was amazingly patient with me through all of it. She even continued to apologize and assure me that she would find a new host, as soon as she could get to her base. I didn't believe her."

Sam sighed, as she remembered how badly she'd treated Jolinar. "I'm very ashamed of the way I treated her. I realize now that she really had no way of knowing that I wasn't offering myself to her. That is neither here nor there, at this point, though, so I'll get back to the chain of events. She managed to imitate me for the most part, with only one or two slipups. They were enough to make the Colonel wonder what was going on, though. I fed her memories of a younger me, so some of her actions were very out of character for me. Then, Janet wanted me to visit Cassie, since I hadn't seen her for a while. I didn't warn her that she would be able to detect the naquadah, so when we hugged her, Cassie became terrified and accused her of being Goa'uld. Jolinar didn't know what to do. She knew she had to get to her base. There were reasons that it was becoming imperative that she reach them, not the least of which was now the need for a new host."

"She threatened Cassie, if she told anyone that she was Goa'uld. Of course, they managed to get Cassie to tell them what was wrong. The poor kid was in shock, and terrified of the person that rescued her and was the first person she learned to trust, when the entire population of her world, except for her, were wiped out…by the Goa'uld Nerrti. Now, I had turned on her and threatened her." She smiled briefly, before continuing her recital of events, "Jolinar felt really horrible for scaring her, but she was almost panic-stricken herself thinking about what to do and how to leave Earth, so that she could return to the tunnels. I was really being an ass, as well, so things weren't going well, at that point. She did almost make it off world, but Cassie spilled the information in time for them to stop her. Jolinar threatened to blow up the Gateroom. They tranquilized us and incarcerated us. Both of us were at fault during the entire debacle."

Sam rolled her neck and rubbed it, before leaning forward and refilling her glass. She looked at Martouf and he nodded, so she refilled his glass, as well. Then, after taking a drink, she leaned back and tried to relax. Staring into the deep red wine for a moment, she restarted the story where she left off. "At that point, she decided that she had to tell them who and what she was. They didn't believe her, of course, even though Teal'c said that he'd heard of her and that she was a much hunted Tok'Ra. That was about all he could tell them, though. His information pertaining to the Tok'Ra was rumor and legend. He did admit that Apophis often had them hunting for the fabled tunnels that the Tok'Ra were supposed to live in."

She also told them that there was an Ashrak after her, and that he would kill both of us. She told them that they wouldn't be able to stop him. That he would get to us, even under guard as we were. They didn't believe that either. She assured them that she would find a new host and give me back to them, if they would release her, so that she could do so. Of course, they definitely didn't believe that. As far as the Tau'ri were concerned, she was Goa'uld. Period. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. There was no such thing as a '_good'_ Goa'uld. They'd never heard of the Tok'Ra, and as far as they were concerned, she was just trying a different tactic than other Goa'ulds had tried."

A wry smile graced her lips, as she remembered the first time Jolinar gave her control, after they blended. "When she realized that they wouldn't listen to her any more than I would, she released control to me. Colonel O'Neill was questioning her, at the time. I was so surprised that I didn't know what to do at first. The Colonel was leaving, and I told him that it was me. That I really did have control, and that Jolinar would leave me, when she found a new host. He didn't believe it was me and left the room. She took control back and started muttering to herself wondering what it would take for them to believe her. That incident was the turning point for the two of us. It caused me to stop insulting her and start listening to what she was saying, as well as what she was trying to show me by letting me share her memories."

Sam smiled sadly, as she remembered the few days it had taken for all this to occur. After taking another drink to wet her throat, she started her narrative yet again, "Jolinar offered Daniel information about his wife, Sha'uri, since she was fairly sure she knew where Apophis had taken Amaunet and Sha'uri to await the birth of her child, if he would help to convince them that she was what she said she was. He didn't really believe her, either, although, using his usual thorough ways, he considered the mistake they were making, if she was telling the truth."

"And in the end, he did try to argue that, if Jolinar was telling the truth, they were making a mistake in not listening to her. He pointed out that, if the Tok'Ra did exist, then they should, at the very least, attempt to find out more about them, and maybe try to meet them. If they were fighting against the Goa'uld, then perhaps, they should consider trying to ally with them. Needless to say, no one listened to him, either. Colonel O'Neill's opinion was that you could never, ever, trust a Goa'uld, no matter what they called themselves, so Daniel's common sense approach was, for lack of another way to describe it, shouted down, and drowned out."

"While all of this was taking place, the Ashrak managed to heal his host and, pretending to be a doctor, he checked all of the Nasyans, looking for our energy signature. When he didn't find it, he took control of a soldier's mind and came with him, when he brought some of the Nasyans back to the base. At some point, he got some BDUs, and impersonated a soldier, too, so the driver didn't suspect anything, at first, until he realized he didn't recognize him as a soldier from the mountain. By the time he realized that, it was too late, and the Ashrak took control of him."

She frowned, and then said, "I'd better backtrack here, for a bit. After the Ashrak healed his host, he attacked a doctor, changed into his clothes, and put the doctor in the bed. The Ashrak's host was very badly burned, and his face was completely covered by bandages, so at first, when the next doctor examined him, he was puzzled at the notes on the chart. That's when she realized that it was the doctor that was supposed to be checking on that patient and not the patient at all. Luckily, it was our Doctor Fraiser that discovered him, and she immediately realized that only a Goa'uld could have healed the host that quickly. She notified the SGC at once, so they knew there was another Goa'uld. Teal'c was sure, when he heard about another Goa'uld, that Jolinar was telling the truth, and he insisted that it was probably the Ashrak. He also insisted that, if it was an Ashrak, then they wouldn't be able to keep him from getting to us. Unfortunately, the Colonel only half-way believed him…meaning he thought that Teal'c was probably over-reacting."

"The soldier that drove the transport vehicle to the SGC, from the hospital, realized that he didn't remember anything, after the soldier that he didn't recognize joined him in the transport vehicle. He didn't remember starting the transport vehicle, driving to the base, showing his ID, so they could enter the base, parking the transport vehicle, or opening the back, showing the Nasyans into the base or explaining what they needed to do, and where they needed to go…but it was apparent that he had accomplished all of that. He went straight to the infirmary and reported that he didn't remember any of that, and the first he knew he was standing in the elevator with the some of the Nasyans. His mind was totally blank when he tried to remember the drive from the hospital to the SGC. He told them the last thing he remembered was the soldier he didn't recognize entering the transport vehicle."

"Since Dr. Fraiser followed the transport vehicle to the base, and the driver talked to her, General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill, and Teal'c were immediately informed. As soon as he heard the story, Teal'c started running towards the cellblock informing them over his shoulder that it was the Ashrak, and that he would kill Jolinar and me. Needless to say, the Colonel followed him asking questions that Teal'c didn't bother to answer; he just kept running. Luckily, he insisted on having his staff weapon with him, and Colonel O'Neill had his sidearm. We didn't see it, of course, but as soon as they burst through the door to the room our cell was in, Teal'c started firing at what appeared to be a soldier leaning over us in our cell. The Colonel hesitated slightly, but he, too, started shooting him. The Ashrak had a zat'nik'tel in his free hand, and he attempted to bring it around to fire back, but he was dead before he could even lift it far enough to use it."

"As soon as the Ashrak fell, Colonel O'Neill ran to the cell to check us, as Teal'c made very sure that the Ashrak was dead." Sam gave Martouf and Lantash a small smile. "He snapped his neck making sure that not only was the Ashrak dead, he was doubly, definitely dead. SFs were scrambling into the room behind the two of them, but stopped and stared at what they were seeing. Colonel O'Neill barked at them that I was alive and to get a med team down there."

"Teal'c didn't wait to see if they followed the Colonel's order, he just pushed the Colonel out of the way, and picked us up. He started running with us in his arms, and he called back over his shoulder for them to notify the infirmary that we were on our way, and that I was in very critical condition. Colonel O'Neill didn't bother to repeat Teal'c's order, he just added, "Now!" and started running after him. They were met at the infirmary door by Dr. Fraiser, something they didn't doubt for a minute would happen."

Sam paused, as she thought about how close she and Jolinar had come to dying that day. Martouf waited quietly for her to return to the story of what happened to them. A moment later, she resumed her narrative, "After Jolinar gave me control, we started learning about each other, our cultures, our goals, just…all kinds of things. We were lucky the Ashrak didn't get to us earlier. We had enough time and shared enough information that I knew it was important that we get to know one another and consider forming an alliance with the Tok'Ra. Jolinar agreed with me. It would be mutually beneficial, if only so we could stop killing each other's people" she grimaced, "as we did when we blew up Apophis's motherships. That's a conversation for later, too."

"So, back to what happened after the Ashrak reached us. Jolinar protected me to the point that I might have pulled through, even if she didn't, but I knew that we both needed to survive. No one, including me, knows how I managed to regain consciousness, for those few critical moments, but I did. I told Janet to do everything she possibly could to save Jolinar; I told her to trust me and save her. I remember telling her that she wasn't a Goa'uld, and I repeated 'not' several times, so there could be no mistake, as to what I meant."

"Jolinar and I are very lucky that Janet does trust me, and that she also realized that I wouldn't voluntarily remain host to a Goa'uld. Ever. I'd prefer to die, and they all know that fact. It's what made them believe me, I think. Well, that, and the fact that they had me connected to a machine that shows brainwaves; it was very obvious that I was the one doing the talking. Jolinar was dying, and her brainwaves didn't change, but mine did. So, they knew I meant what I was saying, and Janet did everything she could to save both of us, and so…here we are happily blended despite our extremely rocky start."

"Questions? Comments? Tirades? Explosions? Anything?" Sam asked, as she sat watching them with a slight smile on her lips and amusement in her eyes. Knowing that they would have to discuss her information, Sam turned to her own thoughts, as did Jolinar, at least for the moment.

"_You appear to have lost your, anger, Mer Cor," _Martouf told Lantash softly._ "However, you still appear disturbed by something. What is it about which you are unsure? Do you believe that Samantha is lying to us? I must tell you that I do not. I believe her to be a truthful person, unless she has no choice." _

Lantash did not respond and Martouf frowned. What could be troubling his Lifemate to the point of this total preoccupation? He was completely absorbed in his own thoughts. He frowned harder, when he realized that they were shielded; this was unlike him. _ "Lantash?_ _Lantash?" _Martouf finally resorted to forcing the issue, raising his voice, and speaking firmly, "_Lantash! Come, I am attempting to garner your attention and converse with you. Can you not answer my questions?" _

When he still did not receive a reply, Martouf gave him a mental slap in the back of the head, thus receiving his immediate attention. Lantash responded, sounding annoyed and aggravated, "_Why did you do that, Martouf? Could you not simply call my name? Was it necessary to attack me physically? It is not all that difficult to acquire my attention." _

Martouf shook his head at him and sighed with obvious exasperation, before retorting, "_I have been attempting to capture your attention. You were giving me no response whatsoever and, besides that, you were guarding your thoughts, which is something that you rarely do. It was necessary, for me to take decisive action, if I wished to have any conversation or discussion with you." _Martouf sent him a vision of himself crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at him in undeniably exacerbated irritation. _"Why are you blocking your thoughts from me? What is so private about Samantha's explanation that you cannot share it with me? I am having difficulty understanding why you would react to what Samantha told us in this manner." _

Lantash looked somewhat surprised and quickly told him, "_I am sorry, Martouf. I did not realize that I shut myself off from you. I was simply engrossed in my thoughts, and did not realize how deeply I was immersed in them." _He smiled slightly at him, assuring him, "_There is nothing in my thoughts that I wish to keep to myself, Cariad kea. Do not allow it to concern you." _

Martouf nodded, but did not at first unbend; he remained guarded himself, as he determined whether or not Lantash was attempting to lie to him. Finally deciding that he was being honest, he replied, "_All right. Can you not share with me whatever it is that is weighing on your mind? Surely, you no longer believe that Jolinar deliberately took an unwilling host, do you?" _

Lantash did not immediately reply to Martouf's question. When he did, his answer was hesitant; as if he wasn't really sure he wanted to voice what he was thinking, _"How could she not know that she was taking an unwilling host, Martouf?" _ Feeling Martouf's negative reaction, he quickly continued, _"This woman and her people were complete strangers to her. Jolinar had to know that Samantha had no way of knowing that she was within the man she was attempting to help. What could possibly have made her assume that this woman, whom she had never before met, knew not only that there was a symbiote within the man, but also that it was Tok'Ra and not Goa'uld? Does this not seem odd? Jolinar is very intelligent, Martouf. How could she not know that it was impossible that Samantha would know that she was there and be offering to become her new host?" _

Martouf did not respond at once, but instead gave Lantash's comments serious thought. Eventually, he answered, saying, _"I believe that they explained that, Lantash. In the midst of everything that was occurring, Jolinar did not think at all; she admitted that to us. After listening to Samantha's account of the attack, and their subsequent blending, it is my opinion that Jolinar did something very rare for her. She panicked, and then she reacted in a manner totally alien to what her normal actions would be. She wasn't thinking at all. It probably wasn't until later that the things you mentioned finally occurred to her." _

Martouf softly pointed out, _"Hindsight is perfect, as you know. No doubt, she has wondered herself, why those things did not enter her mind. I am quite certain that, as she considered the event in retrospect, she asked herself those same questions many times. Or, she would have, if Samantha allowed her to do so. I suspect that her new Lifemate put a stop to her bathing in guilt. Samantha does not appear to me to be the kind of woman who would waste time on regretting actions that cannot be undone. She would instead focus on what can be accomplished, and what she should do going forward. She would accept that it happened, it worked out well regardless of the less than auspicious beginning, and there was no point in wasting time on unproductive emotions and regrets. It was time to move on." _

Lantash was very quiet, as Martouf's words wrapped around his mind. He could find no fault with Martouf's beliefs or reasoning, and he felt sure that he was correct in what he felt was the truth. It happened, and, for whatever reason, Jolinar did not think about what she was doing, at the time, and later she offered to do what she could to mitigate the mistake. Samantha chose not to change anything. Had Jolinar truly forced herself on her new Lifemate in a horrific way, said Lifemate would _not_ be so forgiving.

He felt the relief flood him. He had not realized just how upset and tense he was over this. He admired Jolinar, as well as loved her. After all, the Tok'Ra fought the Goa'uld because of their genetic memory; Jolinar fought because she believed in Egeria's goals and beliefs. His disillusionment would have been devastating, not only to him, but also to Martouf, had it proven true that she had done something so very contrary to their highest laws and beliefs.

Feeling the relief coursing through Lantash, Martouf felt as if a weight was lifted from his own heart. He had been aware of Lantash's anguish at the thought that Jolinar was less than they believed her to be. He truly believed everything he said to Lantash. He was sure that Samantha, too, believed that it was not an intentional act on Jolinar's part, but an error committed during a chaotic and confusing moment, lacking in enough time to think through what she was about to do. Living with her, she would have felt Jolinar's emotions, and, once she stopped fighting her, she would have known it, if Jolinar was attempting to lie to her. He had no problem accepting what the two of them said.

"_Thank you, Mer Prinekh, for putting the incident into perspective for me. I realize that Samantha pointed out these very same things; however, I believe that I was too appalled and shocked by what I thought they were telling us, to hear, let alone calmly comprehend, all of the subsequent explanations." _

His words soothed Martouf's own anxiety, and he was able to turn his thoughts to Lantash's earlier unusual behavior. Frowning, he asked him, _"Were these the thoughts that so engrossed you earlier, though, Lantash? Your emotions felt different, when you were lost in thought, before we started discussing Samantha's explanation of how she and Jolinar came to be blended." _

Lantash hesitated, for a moment, before quietly admitting, _"No, Martouf. No, that is not what I was thinking about, at that time." _He paused, frowning, and then told him, _"I was actually wondering why Jolinar has not yet contacted the base. I am of the opinion that she is not telling us everything about their escape and consequent wounding. There is definitely more to her not returning to the base than being afraid to lead the Jaffa and Ashrak to us." _He frowned again, and then added, "_The Ashrak is dead. Why has she not contacted them? What is causing her to retreat from announcing her survival and confirming Rosha's passing?" _

Martouf was at a loss for an answer. He had no more idea why she had not contacted them than Lantash had. The council would not be pleased and she would know that. "_I do not have a clue, Lantash. Not one idea comes to mind, when you voice that question. Perhaps we should simply ask her. Since she is newly blended, perhaps she wished to bond deeply before taking Samantha to the base? Could that possibly be the reason? I do not know; however, the sensible thing to do would be to question her requesting that she explain her reasons for failing to notify the Tok'Ra, and us, of her survival. She does not have to answer us, but if she does not, then perhaps there truly is something she is keeping from us." _

"_Yes, that would be the most logical thing to do." _Lantash sighed deeply, before telling him, "_I was also wondering why she does not remember us, and what we should do about it. Should we attempt to seduce them in hopes that it would help her to remember us? Perhaps we should simply tell them who we are. I have almost done so once or twice already. Would it really be a bad thing to do? Telling them, I mean. I am conflicted on how to handle the situation. I am quite sure that the healers would tell us not to force her memories lest we do more damage than good. The situation has been preying on my mind, and I am no closer to knowing what to do about it now, than I was when we first realized that, though she knows us, she does not remember our true relationship. It is both worrisome and frustrating." _He moaned softly, showing his mate just how deeply that worry and frustration was affecting him.

Lantash said no more, for the moment, and when Martouf finally answered him, his tone was gentle, _"I understand your feelings, Lantash; after all, I share them. _ _I, too, am enduring a battle between my head and my heart. My head cautions patience, while my heart screams for me to take her in my arms and tell her how very much she means to us._ _ I find myself reaching out to touch her, and it is all I can do to stop myself, as my mind takes me to task for even considering it…if for no other reason than for Samantha's peace of mind." _

Lantash nodded, accepting Martouf's statement. "_I understand_." After a short pause, he assured him. _"I am having the same urges and the same arguments with myself." _ His tone was strained as he grappled with the turmoil of emotions within him, "_It is not only the fear of doing something wrong and making her situation worse, Martouf. I am also finding myself more and more concerned over Samantha's response. Normally, we would know that she would be beginning to feel Jolinar's love for us. Unfortunately, she cannot be feeling something that is hidden away from them." _

Lantash's voice was pensive as he talked to his host, _"This is always a critical time for a bonded pair, Martouf. The new host is grappling with the many emotions that are literally bombarding them. Not only the emotions of the symbiote and the grief they feel for their lost Lifemate, but the knowledge that they gain upon blending. These things you know, however, you did not have to deal with the emotions connected to becoming a mate to someone you never met before. We fell in love with Rosha and Jolinar a few years after we blended. This is the first instance where a new mate has come into our mating. This is a very unusual circumstance. Normally, Jolinar would be slowly exposing Samantha to her own feelings for us. Samantha, if things work, as we would hope, would begin to have an interest in us, at the same time." _

He sighed before continuing, "_We would begin to learn about our new mate. At first, because of our love for Jolinar, and then because of Samantha, we would begin to fall in love with her. It is my belief that she will be very easy to love. We are already attracted to her physically. I do not believe that a mental and emotional bond would take long to form, if things were going, as they should be. But they are not. Jolinar is not sharing her feeling for us, as she is unaware of them herself. It is a very disturbing and confusing situation. I truly know not what to do other than wait as long as we can and hope that she remembers us." _

"_We must also remember that Samantha will have many doubts about her feelings, but mostly about ours. It is difficult for a new mate to understand how we could come to love her in what she will consider is a very short time. Eventually she will understand it, and come to believe that we truly do love her as much as we love Jolinar, but in the meantime, we must be aware and give her the support and proof that she will need to come to that belief." _

Martouf was quiet, as he contemplated Lantash's words. He was right, of course. There were several challenges facing them, not the least of which was helping their mates find their way back to them. He copied Lantash's sigh, before agreeing, _"I know that you are correct, Mer Prinekh. We must do the best that we can." _ Looking across the table at their mates, he realized that they were quite relaxed and obviously in a conversation of their own. _"At least, they do not appear to be worrying over our continued silence." _

"_No, indeed they do not. They are quite content to wait for us to finish our discussion and draw our conclusions. They are very comfortable with one another, and that can only be a very good thing, Martouf. It is another sign that Jolinar did not, in fact, deliberately take an unwilling host." _

Leaning back, they continued to watch them interact with one another.

As Martouf and Lantash continued to converse, Sam finally turned her thoughts outward, and asked Jolinar, _"I wonder what Lantash will have to say, now that he realizes the 'fault' of our blending has to be spread equally between the two of us? _

Jolinar chuckled, before commenting, _"I doubt very much that Lantash has managed to hold onto his anger. I am quite sure that he will ask himself, and Martouf, how I could possibly have believed that you were offering yourself to me; however, as I said, he will listen to reason and, probably with help from Martouf, come to realize that it was not done deliberately. He is a very fair, logical being, and he will have to admit that the entire incident was nothing more than a string of errors, which we have resolved. If he does consider you the victim, we will deal with it; however, I doubt that will be his response."_ She frowned, as she saw another flash of Martouf and Lantash with her and Rosha…this time lying on a blanket under the stars. There was no doubt, as to what they were doing; their bodies were entwined, they were naked, and they were not simply lying still. This memory of the past came and left as quickly as the first one.

Samantha was distracted, as she awaited their response to her question. She was watching Martouf, as he stared into his glass of wine looking pensive. There was no doubt that he and Lantash were talking. Eventually, they would find out whether or not they were still going to consider that she broke the Tok'Ra's blending laws.

Catching the last part of Jolinar's thoughts, Sam caressed her and gave her a hug, before telling her, _"I won't allow them to say that, Jol. Neither of us broke any laws. We both agree that you had no way of knowing, considering the conditions surrounding us, that I was doing anything other than offering myself to you. Yes, 'now' looking back and thinking it through, while you have all the time in the world to consider and understand what I was doing, it seems as if you should have known that I wasn't offering to be your host. We both realize, in hindsight, that there was no way I could have known that you were Tok'Ra. In retrospect, it seems obvious, but the reality is that it wasn't. I put my mouth over yours. You blend through the mouth. Period. End of discussion." _

Jolinar returned the caress and added a light kiss. _"I must agree at this point in time, my Sam. Between the chaos and my panic, I believed what I wanted to believe. I cannot rectify my mistake in any other way than to find a new host, and I do not believe that either of us wish for me to do that, as things now stand." _

"_No," Sam agreed, "we don't." _They sat quietly for a time, each with their own thoughts. Finally, Sam commented, "_I guess this isn't as much of a no-brainer, as I thought it was. They certainly seem to be discussing it at length." _

Jolinar glanced over at the two of them sitting across from them and sighed, "_Yes, they do. I have a feeling they are also discussing something else, although I have no idea of what it could possibly be that would take this long. You may as well broach the other bottle of wine and pour us a glass, my Sam. It looks like we might be here for a while yet." _

Sam laughed at her, but willingly reached into their bag and pulled out a second bottle. Sighing, she told her Lifemate, _"It's a shame that you guys can't get a little tipsy. It would make them, and us, a lot more congenial…assuming alcohol didn't cause either of them to become obnoxious and combative." _

Jolinar chuckled, before she replied, "_Actually, I do not have to filter all of it out. I can allow us to get as intoxicated as you wish. I can even take care of the resultant 'hangover'. As for Martouf and Lantash's reaction to alcoholic beverages," _she paused for a moment, as she thought about all of the things that she was sure she knew about them. She frowned when she realized just how very much she _did_ know about them, their lives, their personalities, their likes and dislikes, and what their responses would be to most shrugging, she decided to think about and consider it later.

That settled, she returned to her conversation with Samantha, asserting, _"As I was saying, as for their reactions to wine and such, they become neither obnoxious nor combative. I seem to remember that they become somewhat, er, libidinous." _She frowned again, adding, "_Although, I have no idea how I am aware of that fact about them. But then", _she shrugged, _"they have both said that the four of us were very close friends, so it is entirely possible that I have seen them in that condition. I do not remember if they are mated or not, though, which is rather odd. Perhaps they simply pick the flowers, where they find them, and so I have heard it through gossip. Or, they may have told me themselves." _

Sam nodded her agreement, poured them some more wine, and settled back to wait.

TBC


	16. Seeing Within Ch 16 AAOF

_**Chapter Sixteen Summary: **Martouf and Lantash assure Sam and Jolinar that they understand what happened, or at least that they are not angry about it. Then they ask some of the questions over which they have been pondering. Sam and Jolinar give them answers. Lantash and Martouf are in for a surprise or two when they hear them. Sam and Jolinar have a talk about a memory of Jolinar's. Martouf and Lantash think about everything, including their new mate._

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

_**FyCariad – **Dearest_

_**Cariad – **Dear_

_**Cor'cyfials shel'lec te dak – **Heartfriends sharing the flesh. Lovers._

_**Mer Prinekh – **My Lifemate, a term of endearment between Symbiote and Host. Can be translated as meaning something like Beloved Lifemate or Sweet Lifemate._

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Sixteen**_

_**Seeing Within**_

* * *

Sam and Jolinar were so relaxed and comfortable, as they waited to hear what Lantash and Martouf had to say, that they were startled, and a little disoriented, when Lantash finally spoke to them. Sam sat up straighter and brought her gaze to him, realizing that they had almost been asleep. It was unheard of for her and even more so for Jolinar. Oh, well, no doubt, they needed the relaxation and rest. The last several days had been pretty hectic, and the wine was definitely helping. Evidently, Jolinar wasn't filtering all of it out.

She smiled at him, a little sheepishly, "I apologize, Lantash. Jolinar and I have been going pretty much flat out ever since we blended. This is really the first time we've had to relax, and it was so quiet and comfortable here with you and Martouf that we almost fell asleep. Sorry."

Lantash could not keep the smile from his lips, even if he wanted to. He shook his head at her, assuring her, "No apology is necessary, Samantha. Martouf and I were caught up in our own conversation and rudely left you and Jolinar to entertain yourselves. If you chose to sleep, then who are we to object? I will simply say that I hope you enjoyed your few minutes of calm and rest."

Sam laughed softly, as she replied, "We did, thank you." She cocked her head, as she stared at him, a question in her eyes. "I believe that we were awaiting your comments and questions? I don't think we actually slipped into sleep, so I don't believe we missed them entirely."

Lantash shook his head. "No, you did not. Martouf and I discussed the information you imparted, and we do have some questions, although some are not concerning the information you gave to us about your blending. We have some other questions to which we would like answers."

Sam nodded her agreement, replying, "Please, proceed. We're very willing to answer your questions…if we can do so without compromising any classified information. I believe that Jolinar and I would both like your comments on what we explained to you first, though."

He nodded his acquiescence and cleared his throat, telling her, "After listening to your recitation of the events that took place before, during, and after your blending with Jolinar, we cannot find fault…especially with you, Samantha, as you are the injured party, but also with Jolinar. While I find it _almost_ impossible to believe that Jolinar did not realize that there was no way you could have known that she was there, both you and Martouf have pointed out that the circumstances were such that logical thought was probably beyond her at the time."

Sam nodded. "It was; believe me, I _know_. I lived through all of her emotions. She was appalled and horrified over the entire thing. It helped me to realize that she was telling me the truth, and I also realized that hers was _not_ a normal Goa'uld response."

"We understand. While in the normal course of events, we would not find her behavior acceptable, we will take your word that it was not a deliberate taking of an unwilling host." He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was hesitant, and Sam could hear a note, unconscious she was sure, of pleading in it, as he asked her, "You are positive that she did not wonder, before she blended with you, how you could know that she was within the man?" He shook his head, and it was obvious that he was angry with himself, as he continued almost immediately, "Of course, she did not. Forgive me for voicing a question to which I already know the answer."

Sam looked at him calmly, for a moment. Lantash knew Jolinar very well. He was finding it almost impossible to believe that, as intelligent as she was, she could have mistaken what Sam was doing, for an offer of a new host. He needed reassurance that only she could give to him. She leaned towards him and grasped his hand. She squeezed it gently, before assuring him softly, "Lantash, I am _absolutely positive_ that the thought that I was not offering for her did not as much as flicker in her mind. It _positively_ did _not_ enter her thoughts that I was doing anything other than offering her a new host. Why else would I be kissing a man I didn't know? That was one of the thoughts I heard from her, as she thought it through later. And I believe that thought stopped any other questions she might have had. There simply was no time…_no time at all_, for her to analyze what was occurring, I _promise_ you."

Lantash nodded, and it was obvious that a weight fell from him. "Thank you, Samantha. Although Martouf and I came to the conclusion that you were not lying about what occurred, I simply wanted to hear what you would say about it one more time. I am now very comfortable with our decision. We believe that Jolinar was wrong to take control and keep it, even after she arrived at the SGC; however, you did explain that, too, and we can understand her actions, even if we do not approve of them. We would like to discuss her reasons further, but that can wait for another time, as our question about it will probably come about naturally, when we discuss some other things…later. We will say nothing more about it now, if that is what you wish. Both of us are comfortable with—most—of her actions and your acceptance of them."

Sam grinned at him, as she released his hand and sat back. "Thank you…from both of us. Jolinar is as relieved as I am. She knows that you were close friends. At least, that is what her feelings are telling her. She believes that you spent a great deal of time together, when she wasn't on a mission and she, and I, too, look forward to becoming acquainted, as well as reacquainted, with you and Martouf."

He bowed his head in acceptance of her comment, and then smiled a truly charming smile at her; one that almost took her breath away with its deep appeal, before he responded, "We look forward to coming to know you better, as well, Samantha, and to forming a strong…relationship…with you, as well as renewing our…relationship…with Jolinar."

She returned his smile with a brief one of her own, and then she turned inward, as Jolinar began talking to her, _"We should ask him what it is that they wish to know, my Sam. If they have questions, they could also have suspicions. I would, however, guess that they will pertain to our actions, since our blending and acceptance here. No doubt, they will wish to know more about the people of Earth. Still, I think that our being here and not contacting the Tok'Ra, as to my survival and Rosha's demise is disquieting to them. There is little doubt but that it will make them feel uneasy about trusting us completely, until we explain, which we must do soon. If not tonight, then definitely tomorrow. We cannot delay it for much longer." _

"_I see," _Sam sounded hesitant; however, she asked her, "_Jolinar, are you absolutely sure that they aren't involved with the traitor on the base? Are you positive that they aren't involved in any way?" _

"_Yes, my Sam. I am very sure. I am unequivocally confident that they are not involved with the traitor's actions. _Jolinar paused, and then she reminded her, "_Samantha, do you remember when I told you that I remembered some of the people, and that I knew that none of them were involved? That they were completely and undeniably trustworthy?" _

Sam nodded, as she agreed, "_Yes, I remember you telling me about them. You indicated that they were irrefutably loyal to the Tok'Ra. Why?" _

"_Because, although I did not name Lantash and Martouf specifically, they belong to that group, and I would trust them with our lives." _

"_That's good, Jol, because, if we tell them about the traitor, you 'will' be putting our lives into their hands." _

"_Yes I will, and I am quite comfortable doing so." _

After taking a careful look and determining that Jolinar was quite sure she was correct, Sam nodded, telling her, _"Okay, I'm in. If you trust them that much, then, I will, too. Do you want to talk to them and answer their questions?" _

Jolinar sent her a smile along with her appreciation, for the trust she was giving her. _"No, you need to come to know them better. If we are to remain good friends with them, which I very much wish to do, then you must come to trust and like them based on your own feelings and knowledge, too," _Jolinar encouraged her.

"_No problem." _Sam murmured so softly that Jolinar would not have heard her, if she had not also been able to 'see' the statement in her mind, _"Coming to like them won't be the problem; the problem might just be that I'll like them too much." _

Turning outward before Jolinar could comment, Sam turned back to Lantash, to see a small smile playing on his lips. It caused her to ask him, "What? What are you smiling about?"

"Nothing really, Samantha. It is simply good to see that you and Jolinar appear to be well suited. It is obvious that you work well together."

"Yeah, I guess we do. We seem to like a lot of the same things." Taking a deep breath, she jumped in feet first, adding, "But instead of talking about that, we should be answering your questions. So, what is it that you want to know? I'll answer, as well as I can, as I said before, without giving you any classified information. However, I suspect you already realize that. We won't pass sensitive material on to the Tok'Ra, any more than we would pass Tok'Ra information on to the people here. So, as long as it isn't classified…ask and I'll answer."

He nodded decisively. "Very well. There are several things about which we would like to know. I believe that there was mention of a mother-ship being stolen. Ah, that does indeed sound very much like something that Jolinar would attempt to do and, from the way it was phrased, I must assume it was successful?"

Sam grinned and then laughed aloud. "I figured you made note of that. Actually, we stole two of them, along with the shipwright that was in charge of building them. At the moment, the ships aren't on Earth; however, as soon as we can, we'll be bringing the Al'keshes and death gliders here for training purposes, as well as to study them. Unless, that is, the powers that be decide to send the future pilots to the world we stashed them on instead."

Clearly puzzled, Lantash asked, "So, they are not here? Why did you not bring them to your base?"

"Ah…well…we have no place to hide them…yet. They're just too large to hide, even if they can be cloaked. All it would take would be someone uncloaking them by mistake, for some nasty repercussions to occur. The Al'keshes can be explained as experimental vehicles, but there is no way a mother-ship could be explained that way without the entire world becoming very uncomfortable at what we, apparently, are capable of building, and there would be a worldwide outrage and outcry against us. No. We can't chance it; not yet, anyway. Remember that very few people have access to and knowledge about the Stargate or the threats that are out there. We can't have someone discover a Goa'uld Mother-ship somewhere in, say, Nevada, as unpopulated as it is. It would be a disaster."

Lantash nodded. "Yes, I can see where it would be, and I should have realized that it would be imperative that it not be found or seen."

Sam shrugged. "There's been a lot for you to absorb in a very short period of time. You were kept in a cell and your own—reluctance—to reveal who and what you are led to some misunderstandings. It's very lucky that we met Jolinar and came to understand the difference between the Tok'Ra and the Goa'uld, before you were brought here. At least this way, General Hammond realized that you might not actually be Goa'uld and kept you away from Maybourne and his cronies."

"Yes, that is very true." He hesitated again, before asking, "Would you mind if we ask some more questions about the, ah, _acquisition_ of the motherships? I find it—interesting—that you managed to steal two of them. How did you manage to get both of them, if I may ask?"

Sam grinned. "Sure. It's not as if you don't know that we have them. Actually, it all had to do with Daniel's wife." She paused with an arrested, unfocused look on her face, for a short time, before she brought her gaze back to them saying, rather quietly, "I've just realized that you haven't met Daniel or his wife. I guess you need the background of that and, since we hope that the Tok'Ra can help her, there's no reason you shouldn't be aware of what is happening."

"You see, when Jolinar and I were incarcerated, Jolinar told Daniel that she knew where Sha'uri, his wife, was hidden. I think we mentioned that, but you probably let it pass by, since it wouldn't have seemed relevant. But, in reality, it's very relevant. You see, if it wasn't for Sha'uri, we wouldn't have needed to steal those motherships. As it was, we actually only needed one, but we figured that, if we were going to take one, we might as well make the risk worthwhile, so we stole two of them."

Although Lantash's expression did not change, Sam could tell that he was perplexed and confused by what she was telling him.

Her Lifemate giggled. Sam's attention was immediately switched to her. Jolinar did _Not_ giggle; it was very out of character for her. The giggle turned to a laugh, as she told Sam, _"He is not only perplexed and confused, my Sam. He is also thinking that it is typical that I would decide that if one was good, two would be better. He is probably shaking his head and moaning to Martouf about my recklessness. Martouf will probably commiserate and soothe him. So, you should continue, before he decides to berate us for taking too many risks." _

"_Well, I definitely don't want to sit through a lecture on our conduct. I'll distract him with the explanation…immediately." _

To clarify the situation and, as she told Jolinar, to distract him, she swiftly began to explain, "Sha'uri, Daniel's wife, is host to Amaunet, Apophis's Queen. She's pregnant with Apophis's child, so Amaunet is dormant. Jolinar was sure that Apophis hid her to keep her and the child from the other Goa'uld. No one had seen her for at least six, probably even seven months. Jolinar felt sure that he would take her to her home world and leave her there with her father. She felt that it was only a matter of time before another System Lord figured out where she was. As a matter of fact, one of them dropped out of hyperspace just as we were entering it, after rescuing her; although, we suspect that it was Apophis because he had, ah, heard that Heru'Ur was looking for her and was getting close to finding her."

"Anyway, that's not explaining the ships, so I'll return to that subject. The gate there is inaccessible. The people buried it after Sha'uri and Skaara were taken by Apophis. So, we had to have a ship, if we wanted to rescue her, which we did. With Amaunet dormant, it was the perfect time to do it."

Lantash was frowning. "So, you stole two motherships with which to rescue the host of Amaunet, because she is bonded to one of your teammates, Daniel Jackson."

"Yes," Sam nodded, as she answered. "We've been trying to help Daniel find her and Skaara, her brother, ever since they were taken, but this was the first real break we've had in finding her. So, anyway, Jolinar and I planned the mission, stole the ships, rescued Sha'uri, and brought her back here. We're hoping that the Tok'Ra can remove Amaunet, so that Sha'uri can be free from her."

Lantash nodded, as he ruminated on what Samantha told them. Then he frowned, saying, "There will be no problem removing Amaunet. However, that does not explain why you stole two of them; although, I suppose that is not hard to figure out. Two motherships will give you that much more security."

"Um, yeah, well, that's not really why we took the second one."

Lantash looked at her questioningly, saying, "So, you do have another reason for procuring the second ship."

"Yes." It was Sam's turn to look doubtful.

Jolinar assured her softly, _"It would be best to allow Lantash and Martouf to know of our goals, Samantha. He could be an asset and a help in convincing the Council. I believe it would be prudent to apprise him of our intentions." _

"_If you think it would be best, I'll go along with it. You know them and your people—I don't—at least, not yet." _

Noticing that Sam and Jolinar were discussing something, Martouf took the opportunity to quickly point out, _"Lantash, I believe that it is likely that there is an important reason, for the theft of the second ship. I do not think it was done lightly; however, if I am wrong, and they do not already have a purpose for it, we should see if we can urge them to allow the Tok'Ra the use of it. Perhaps we can work toward a mutually beneficial arrangement." _

"_Let us see what they have to say. I agree that it would be beneficial to the Tok'Ra, but I do not see what the Tau'ri would gain. The Council is not likely to ally with them. They are too, ah—primitive—to be of much use to us." _

"_I would not be so sure of that, Lantash. Jolinar would not have taken the chances she took in stealing motherships, without a very good reason. Nor would she appear to be quite content here. I think we should withhold judgment, until we find out more." _

"_You are no doubt correct, Martouf. I do not know why I did not realize that myself. We will listen to what they have to say." _

"_I suspect that you are too concerned about Jolinar's reason for failing to inform the Council of her escape and Rosha's death. I know it is weighing on your mind, for I find you thinking about it quite often. If you were not so preoccupied with that question, you would be thinking more clearly about other things." _

"_You are probably correct again, Mer Prinekh. I will try to concentrate more on the subject that is under discussion."_

Sam hesitated, not sure how to say what she wanted to tell them. Finally, she told them, "The second mothership is a…bargaining chip…so to speak." She paused again, and then told them, "Once Jolinar and I came to know one another better, we both realized that an alliance between the Tok'Ra and Earth could be very beneficial to both races." Seeing Lantash about to comment, she held up her hand, stopping him. "I know what you are going to say, Lantash. The Tau'ri are too technologically primitive to be of any use to the Tok'Ra. Well, Jolinar and I both agree, when you are speaking of technology. But, we have other assets and abilities that you, as a race, don't. After all, we did kill Ra, and we destroyed two of Apophis's motherships, when he was poised to attack us, even without a fleet of ships of our own. It has weakened him substantially."

She sighed, telling him, "And yes, Jolinar has explained why that isn't necessarily a good thing; however, she also agrees that we had no choice in the matter. It was blow him up, or be blown up by him. If we were allies, and we had known about the Tok'Ra, you could have warned your people to gate off the ship, and they wouldn't have had to die. It's probably only a matter of time, until you end up killing some of our people because we aren't aware of what the other is doing."

"Jolinar and I both realize that it will take some work, but we also both believe that it would be mutually beneficial. Yes, there are a lot of obstacles we will have to overcome, but if we fail to start working together, it will be detrimental to all of us. As I said, there are things that we can do that your people can't, and there are things that you are capable of doing that we aren't."

"Now, while it's true that our technology is way behind yours, that doesn't mean we have nothing to offer your people. For a start, we have a mother-ship that doesn't have a home. We also have the honor of being Ra's executioner; which is something that, I understand from Jolinar, has been a goal of the Tok'Ra's for a very long time; in fact, for many, many centuries. We have enough manpower to work somewhat overtly, eventually, whereas your people can't afford to do that, unless it can't be avoided. There is also the fact that I have willingly taken a Tok'Ra symbiote. If you knew my people better…their fear of the Goa'uld, the belief that a Goa'uld can _never_ be trusted, the complete distrust for _anything_ Goa'uld, the belief that there is _no such thing_ as a good Goa'uld, and the automatic recoiling many would have from the idea of sharing our minds and bodies with another, you would understand better. The sharing alone goes against what many of us consider one of our basic needs, for many of us are very private people. Some of us more so than others, true, but I am one of the ones that value my privacy very highly. I know it doesn't sound like we can offer very much, but Jolinar and I both think that in the long run, it would be good for all concerned. There is one other thing that is still being considered by the President. I think that when that is decided, you will find that we have rather a lot to offer."

"_Samantha, I wish to say something to Lantash, please." _

"_Of course, Jol. Be my guest. From the look in his eyes, I sure haven't been able to convince him." _

Jolinar grinned at her._ "That is alright, my Sam, for I am about to make him think very long and very hard about what the Tau'ri have to offer." _

Coming fore, Jolinar looked at the two across from her. Her demeanor was one of confidence showing no doubts whatsoever. Still, she spoke softly, "Lantash, there is another thing that the council will have to take into account. They must weigh it carefully, for it is a rather important event…one that, in the not too distant future, may well open an important channel for us."

She paused, knowing that she now had their complete and undivided attention. "The Tau'ri have been in contact with Thor. He gave us a message for Per'sus and the High Council. Thor informed us that they are quite pleased that we have met the Tau'ri, and he _strongly suggests_ that we form an alliance. If the _Asgard_ regard the Tau'ri as suitable to become our allies, then I cannot see Per'sus disregarding their, ah, advice, and the chances are very good that he will convince the Council to act in accordance with Thor's wishes."

Lantash looked at her blankly, for a short time, and it became obvious that he was stunned by her news. "You have been in contact with the Asgard? They advise an alliance between the Tau'ri and the Tok'Ra? You are correct, that will definitely make for some deep discussions." He frowned, as he asked her, "Do you know why the Asgard believe that it will be beneficial to all concerned?"

Jolinar shook her head. "No, we do not. The Tau'ri and the Asgard have not met formally. Samantha tells me that they have been watching the people of Earth for hundreds of years; although, only a very few Tau'ri are aware of that fact. It is very possible that they have been watching them longer than that. We know that they have taken groups of people and moved them to other worlds. The people of the Asgard Hammer worlds are from Earth and, as you are well aware, they are under Thor's protection. Daniel and Samantha made contact with Thor through one of their Hammer-protected planets. However, it is not a subject for a lengthy discussion, as you are aware and, except for Per'sus and, perhaps, a few others, we will not be making Thor's…suggestion…known, even to those who are aware of our, ah, knowledge, of one another, for now that is. You will be the only other Tok'Ra to know, at least for the moment. Of course, SG-1 was present when the message was delivered, so they and General Hammond are aware of it. Other than that, not even their President, their country's leader, knows. That is all I will say on the subject for now, Lantash."

Sam was frowning at Jolinar. Finally, she commented, "_I thought that the alliance with the Asgard was something that few knew, and yet, you mentioned it to Lantash. Are they one of the 'few' who know about it?" _

"_Yes, my Sam. The more time that passes, the more I am remembering about the two of them. Lantash and Martouf are regarded very highly, are well liked, trusted, and are excellent operatives. Martouf is one of, and very probably is, our best diplomat and negotiator. Lantash is not generally the diplomat, but he is very intuitive and can often tell when someone is hiding something or lying, when they are in negotiations or a situation that calls for diplomacy. They work well together and because of their position as negotiator and diplomat, they are privy to everything that goes on within that venue. They would, in all probability, be in on any discussion concerning an alliance, and they would no doubt be the ones chosen to write up the treaty." _

"_I see. So, they are trusted and often sent in to work on alliances and such. That's good to know. Maybe this will help them to decide to help us."_

Jolinar nodded decisively. _"I believe that it will. They have a great deal of respect for the Asgard, and their opinions hold a great deal of meaning for them, as they do for Per'sus and some of the other Council members." _

"_Lantash, this is very significant. I wonder what it is that the Asgard see within the Tau'ri? They see things in them that we obviously do not. They have been watching them for a very long time, and they may know of some trait or ability of which we are ignorant,"_ Martouf, pointed out.

Turning his attention from thoughts about what Jolinar revealed to them, he agreed, _"Yes, I consider it very important. Per'sus, too, as Jolinar said, will see it as something not to be ignored. I, like you, believe they see something in the Tau'ri that we do not. I must admit I wish very much to know what it is. I have a feeling that it is something that the Asgard will allow us to find out on our own. So, we will be taking them on faith, something we have never done before, and if it was anyone other than the Asgard, we would not do now." _He sighed, saying, "_There is no point in thinking about it at the moment, though." _

"_Very true. So, I will turn my thoughts to something else about which I am curious. I wonder whose motherships Jolinar and Samantha stole, and I wonder how they managed to do it without getting caught." _Martouf considered the possibilities, but didn't find any of his guesses acceptable.

Lantash gave an amused smile, before assuring him, "_I will ask, Martouf. I must admit to curiosity about those things, too." _His host returned his smile.

Lantash leaned forward, poured each of them another glass of wine, and handed Sam's to her, as she came fore. Once they were resettled, he said, "Tell me, Samantha, whose motherships did you steal, and how did you manage to do it on your own?"

Sam looked startled. "Oh! We weren't on our own. We had eleven, um, '_Jaffa_' and almost as many servants, as well as our lo'tar. Jolinar pretended to be a high-ranking Goa'uld underling. Teal'c has a great deal of presence, and he helped the entire illusion, by acting very much as a high-ranking Jaffa would. Jolinar just told them that their Lord was about to go into battle and was out numbered. He sent her to retrieve two of his new motherships." Sam shrugged. "We knew the shipwright was there, too, so we took him along. The ships were just finished and ready for their test flights. She knew the correct pass phrases and that was that. They never even questioned her. She played her part well, and so did the soldiers that had to be trained to be Jaffa and servants. Everyone did exactly what they were supposed to do, and it really went off very well."

Lantash frowned. "That sounds as if it was almost too easy, Samantha. Whose ships did you steal that they would not check to make sure you were who you said you were?"

Sam smiled, and it held just a tad bit of evil joy. "Ah, well, you see, Jolinar had a score to settle with a certain System Lord." She paused and then told him, very clearly, "Cronus. We stole them from Cronus. Poetic justice, don't you agree?"

Lantash laughed and shook his head, before murmuring, "I should have known. Of course, she would steal from him, for she would have all of the necessary information needed to simply walk in and take them. I wish I could have been there to see it." He paused, obviously thinking before turning back to them, and asking, "And who took the blame for the theft? I am quite sure that she set up one of the other System Lords as being responsible."

Still smiling, Sam told him, "Of course, she did. That would be Sokar. She said he was getting too powerful, and that Apophis was now too weak. If Sokar turned on him, and defeated him, then he could claim to be the Supreme System Lord. Since that was something that none of us wanted to see take place, we blamed the theft of the ships on Sokar and the theft of Amaunet on Heru'Ur. She calculated that would keep them all too busy to try to take Apophis's worlds from him. If he was fighting Heru'Ur, then as his ally, Sokar would come to his aid, and since we blamed the theft of the ships on Sokar, he would find himself fighting both Cronus and Heru'Ur, and therefore, he wouldn't have the time or the resources to move up in the hierarchy."

Lantash thought over what Sam told him and determined that Jolinar was, as usual, when setting up any strategy concerning the System Lords, quite correct. There had been fear that Sokar would attempt, ally or not, to take over Apophis's domains, thus becoming the Supreme System Lord. Well, the Council could stop stressing over it and trying to find a way to stop him. Jolinar had already taken care of it. He had to admit to feeling a great deal of pride in her and her accomplishments. Samantha, too, really, for although she relayed the information, as if it was all Jolinar, he was quite sure that she had been involved in the entire project from start to finish.

Leaving his own thoughts, he gave his attention back to Sam, assuring her, "Jolinar is correct. It should keep them all very busy, for quite some time to come." A speculative look crossed his face, and he told her, "She wanted to help retrieve Daniel's wife as well as acquire a ship for the Tau'ri, however, if she could cause havoc while doing so, she would. It seems that she paid off one or two old scores along the way, as well."

"You know her very well. Yes, that was her reasoning exactly…and don't forget that one of those motherships will be offered to the Tok'Ra, along with its four Alkesh and complement of Death Gliders. Almost brand new, too; only used once and not as much as a scratch on it. The homing device has even been removed, so it can't be traced." Sam grinned at him.

"Yes, ships that do not need constant repairs will be a rare luxury to the Tok'Ra."

"Yes, we thought that might be something they could use."

"_Samantha, it is getting late and we are both tired. Perhaps we should consider talking more tomorrow." _

"_Yeah, I think you're right, Jol. I'm really beginning to feel the lack of sleep." _

Jolinar chuckled softly. "_Yes, I can feel your desire for sleep. You should tell them that we must go to bed, now." _

Sam stifled a yawn. Looking over at them, she confessed, "Sorry. I'm getting a little tired, and I think the wine is making me sleepy. Listen, if you can hold the rest of your questions until tomorrow, I think that Jolinar and I are going to call it a night. It's been pretty hectic for us recently, and I think we could both use some sound sleep."

"As you wish, Samantha. You are correct and our questions can wait until tomorrow." He paused for a moment, and then added, "Actually, there is one other thing that we would like to know tonight, if you would not mind."

Sam yawned again, but answered in the affirmative, "Sure, if it doesn't take too long to explain."

He nodded. "You mentioned that you and Jolinar have not been together for long. How long have you been blended?"

Sam smiled. "We've been together for just under two earth weeks. As we said, we haven't known one another for long."

"I…see. Your actions speak of a longer time together; you are much attuned to one another." He smiled at them, saying, "You have answered the question, so we will keep you from your bed no longer, but will wish you a good-night. May you have pleasant dreams."

She smiled at him, as she stood and headed for the connecting door. "If you need anything, just knock on this door. I'm usually a fairly light sleeper, but not necessarily, when I'm not feeling threatened, which at the moment I'm not. If I don't answer right away, knock louder or come in and get me up." Sending him another smile, and a sleepy look, she opened the door and slipped through it.

* * *

It wouldn't take long to go through their nightly routine and fall into the bed. It was going to feel really, really good. She changed into a camisole top and tap-pant bottoms, before heading for the bathroom to get ready for bed. She finished brushing her teeth, and was in the process of washing her face, when she suddenly saw Rosha and Martouf together. And they weren't sitting and talking. She gasped aloud, as the memory flash left as quickly as it came. She rinsed her face, grabbed the towel to dry it, walked to the bed, sat down, and then asked, rather grimly, "_Jolinar, what was that? I thought you said that the four of you were 'friends'. I know you said you were very good friends, but that…that was way more than 'friends'. In fact, that was so far beyond friends..."_ her statement slowly came to a halt.

Jolinar sighed. _"I have seen two of them myself, Samantha. I hoped that I would remember more about our relationship…when it occurred, and what we are to one another now…before one of them came to us so slowly that you, too, saw it. I wish I could tell you what it was, and what it means; unfortunately, the truth is that I cannot. At my best, ah, guess, I must assume that we were once lovers. That much is very obvious. What is not so clear is what our present relationship with them is. I am being very honest when I tell you that I do not know if it took place long ago or more recently. I do find it hard to believe that it would be ongoing, since I am sure that we are mated." _

Sam moaned and fell back onto the bed. _"Well, they've accepted your naming them as 'good friends'. Is that anything that could tell us something about your, er, relationship with them?" _

Jolinar sounded discouraged, _"Not really, Cariad. We could be Cor'cyfials shel'lec te dak. It means Heartfriends that share the flesh. It is very possible that we have had such a relationship with them in the past, and if that is true, it is nothing about which to be shamed or worried. It is a very common relationship amongst the Tok'Ra. It is just that I…"_ She sighed deeply, before trying again to put her feelings into words, whispering, "_It is just that I do not feel as if the relationship is over, when I see one of the flashes of memory. And when we are with them it feels…very right somehow. I am becoming very confused, my Sam." _Her voice growing stronger, she continued,_ "I know I care deeply for my, our, mates. You can feel the love I hold for them. You are beginning to feel it, as well, even before we know anything of them. So, why am I having these memories of Martouf and Lantash, instead of my mates, who I cannot recall at all, other than that I know they exist? I do not understand what is happening to us." _

Sam frowned. _"Well, okay, stay calm. Let's look at this as unemotionally as possible. Surely, we can take this situation apart and look at it logically." _She paused briefly, as one idea after another presented itself, only to be discarded, for one reason or another. Finally, finding a reasonable idea, she told Jolinar, "_What if the reason we are having these flashes of memory is because Lantash and Martouf are here with us, physically with us, and it's triggering these old memories? I mean, obviously you, Rosha, Lantash, and Martouf were lovers at one time, and whether it was a long time ago, or more recently, doesn't really matter, at this point. As you say, there's nothing wrong with that. We can live with it. This could just mean that, when you see your, our, mates, things will start coming back the same way, in flashes of memories of you together, assuming we don't recognize them right away, which we might, right?" _

Sam paused for a short time, as Jolinar thought about what she said, before she added, _"There's something else we have to take into account, Jol. They are very attractive. I'm very drawn to them, and I find them to be, well, sexually compelling, too. I mean, with me finding them so appealing, and them being here in close proximity to us, it only stands to reason that the memories that are coming back are ones with you being together with them in a, well, in a sexual way."_ Sam finished giving her Lifemate her thoughts on the situation and awaited her reply hoping she wouldn't disagree with her, since these were the only two reasons she could come up with that seemed plausible.

She felt Jolinar relax. "_I believe that you may very well be correct, my Sam, and that would explain why these memories are coming back now. I believe that we should attempt to sleep and not worry about it. It will all work out, as it will work out, and nothing we do or say, at this point in time, will alter that." _

"_That sounds like a philosophy and plan that I can live with tonight. Maybe tomorrow I'll worry about it, but not now. For now, I'm saying good-night." _She heard Jolinar chuckle softly.

"_Good-night, Mer Prinekh. May your dreams be sweet and free from fear." _

Both fell asleep almost at once, the land of dreams beckoning.

* * *

In the next room, Lantash and Martouf talked quietly about everything they learned about their new mate, before they, too, readied for bed. As they lie in bed and stared at the ceiling, Martouf sighed deeply. Lantash didn't have to ask what he was thinking about, as his thoughts were open to him. He decided that they needed to discuss the new information, or neither of them would get much sleep; therefore, he hugged his mate and, then gave him an opening to put his thoughts into words, _"What is it that keeps you awake, FyCariad?" _

"_I would imagine that it is the same things that are disturbing your rest, Lantash, would not you?" _

"_Yes, I am quite sure that they are the same. What is bothering you about what they told us?" _

Martouf did not answer right away, but instead, studied what he was feeling. Eventually, he responded, _"I do not believe that I am bothered or worried by the things they told us, Lantash. Those, I have come to terms with, although I am still amazed over the Asgard's, ah, suggestion to the Council. And, if I am honest, I must tell you that I am becoming ever more concerned that they still do not recognize us as other than 'good friends'. That, I will admit, is disheartening and discouraging, when I want so badly to take them in our arms and hold them close to us." _

"_I understand, Martouf, and it is somewhat daunting to see no recognition of us, as other than a friend, in their eyes. I am sure that something will bring forward more of Jolinar's memories, though, given time. She has admitted that they are slowly coming back. It may simply take more time than we wish to wait. I, too, wish that I could hold them…and mate with them." _

Both of them sighed this time, and Martouf asked softly, "_She is lovely, is she not, Lantash? She is very decisive and intelligent. Yet, I believe that there is a soft core that can be easily hurt. What do you think?" _

"_I agree. She is a beautiful, intelligent woman. I believe that she and Jolinar are well matched. I also believe that she keeps a great deal of herself hidden, possibly, as you say, because she can be easily hurt. She is also, unless I am very wrong, and I do not believe that I am, a formidable soldier whose loyalties and beliefs are deeply ingrained. She will make an admirable addition to the Tok'Ra regardless upon which path she and Jolinar choose to tread." _

"_Things will work out as they are meant to, Martouf. I do not believe that remaining awake and brooding over the situation will help either of us. Tomorrow will soon be here, and we must spend as much of it as we can with our mates. We have other questions, rather important ones, for we still do not know why she has yet to contact the Tok'Ra base." _

Martouf frowned, before slowly asking, _"Lantash, I know I have suggested this before, but, do you think it is possible that one of the memories that Jolinar has lost is the coordinates to the base? It would explain why she has not contacted them. Perhaps she has reconciled herself to remaining here until her memory returns. After all, if she cannot remember, knowing Jolinar, she would simply put it aside and not worry about it." _

It was Lantash's turn to frown, as he mulled over what Martouf suggested. Finally, he answered him, _"It is a very real possibility, Martouf, but…for some reason it does not feel like the correct answer to me. I almost feel that there is something very important behind her not returning right away." _ He paused, and then continued, _"However, as I said, it is a real possibility, and we can hope that it is the reason, for if it is something else, I do not believe that it will be anything good." _

They were both quiet for a short time, each lost in his own thoughts. After a short time, Lantash told his Lifemate, softly, _"You are very tired, Martouf. We should get some sleep. As we both know, tomorrow should answer the remainder of our questions." _

"_Yes, you are correct, and I am becoming somewhat sleepy. We will wait upon tomorrow, and find out what we can then. Good-night, Lantash." _

"_Good-night, Mer Prinekh." _

Lantash smiled to himself. He was responsible for Martouf's sudden desire for sleep. Soon, he would put himself into an induced slumber, as well, but not quite yet. He sighed, as he remembered a few very fleeting thoughts that had come to him earlier. He had loved Rosha. Of that, there was no doubt; however, Martouf's love for her had always been the stronger. He was not concerned that his Lifemate would continue to mourn her, and thus not come to love Samantha. That would not happen, he knew.

For Lantash could already tell that Jolinar's new host was going to capture his heart and perhaps even his soul. It had been many long centuries, since he had cared for a host with that strong and intense a love. He loved Jolinar deeply, and she already held him heart and soul. He was acutely aware that soon Samantha would join her in holding them…and being held within them in return. How he knew, he did not know…he simply did.

No, Martouf would have no problem loving Samantha, for he would not fight Lantash's feelings, and between his own attraction to her, which was already making itself known to them, and Lantash's emotions, there would be no hesitation on his part. Samantha would not have to worry over whether or not they loved her, but whether or not they loved her too much.

TBC


	17. A Dream and A Nightmare Ch 17 AAOF

_**Chapter Seventeen Summary: **Sam has two dreams, one very good and one very bad. The good dream sequence is mild NC-17 or M. What happens after the second dream sequence is mild NC-17 or M. Jolinar and Sam find out that Martouf and Lantash are their mates, much to the relief of all involved. Jolinar explains a little more about the memories that she appears to be missing. _

_**Rating this Chapter – M **_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

_**Mer Cariad kea – **My Dear One_

_**Mer Prinekh - **My Lifemate, a term of endearment between Symbiote and Host. Can be translated as meaning something like Beloved Lifemate or Sweet Lifemate._

_**Please be aware that this chapter is rated M. There are two sections of M material. I consider them mild. You may not. **  
_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Seventeen**_

_**A Dream and A Nightmare**_

* * *

Sam rolled over next to the body lying beside her and snuggled into their warmth. They reached out and pulled her even more firmly against them. She could feel how much they wanted them. It was impossible to miss the velvet covered steel that was jabbing her body, making sure that she knew it was there. Jolinar stirred in her mind, and then awaking more completely, she purred in delight. Sam almost giggled at the sound, but it was also very soothing, so she didn't. She liked it, and she didn't want her Lifemate to stop doing it because she thought it bothered her.

She gasped as their hand moved downward from her breast, sweeping across her abdomen and then to the apex of her thighs. She frowned as she realized that her camisole and tap-pants were missing. Then their hand pulled her mind away from that discovery and back to what it was attempting to do. She smiled as she recognized which of them had control. He was so very passionate, whereas the other one of the pair was more gentle and loving. She enjoyed both, although she didn't know how she knew that. Oh, well, it wasn't important.

He, or they, since 'they' were one in the same, even as they were different from one another, gently guided her onto her back and nipped her bottom lip. His tongue snaked out and soothed the spot he nipped, before his lips moved to the sensitive spots on her throat. She groaned, as she felt her body answer his call. Goddess, he was a wonderful lover. They both were. His mouth moved over her body slowly, so very slowly, and her body responded like a match to kindling bursting into flame at his touch. She moaned into his mouth, as he returned and once more took her lips, this time in a long drugging kiss, before retreating and brushing her lips with his, teasing them with promises of more. His hand tangled in her hair pulling her head back and exposing her throat to him completely before he swooped upon it, wringing gasp after gasp from her.

She whimpered as he barely touched her center. She wanted…she needed…them. She had to have them. She ran her hands over them feverishly, needing to touch them everywhere. It had been so long, so very long, since they had touched her and, she had touched them. She discovered and rediscovered every muscle and plane of his face, his shoulders, his chest, and finally, the shaft that was waiting for her touch. She grasped it in her hand and stroked it, causing him to moan into her shoulder and latch onto her, putting his mark upon her body. Jolinar would refuse to heal it; she liked wearing his brand.

Feeling her need to be with them, Sam released to her Lifemate. As she moved aside, she sensed that they also changed control, even though her eyes were closed, and she couldn't see the glow in theirs, as he released to his host. His touch gentled, his lips whispered. Even if she had not sensed the exchange of control, she would have known by the feel of his hands and lips on her. They were so very different in how they mated with the two of them. They were even different depending on which of them had control. Their present lover coaxed them, where the other demanded. This one asked where the other took. He would handle them as if they might break, where the other pushed them to their limits. Yes, they were very different, but they complemented one another perfectly.

His fingers were making very sure that they were ready for him. He would never take them; unless he was assured that it would bring only pleasure. They were very ready and urged him to continue, to take their shared body and give it all the pleasure his body could bring and share with them. They felt him smile against their skin as he kissed them, working the flames raging within them to new heights. Her head tossed, as Jolinar offered them more of them. More of their body. More of their love. More of everything they were. His mouth left one side of her throat and moved to the other.

One of her hands caressed the hard planes of his chest with her fingers. She felt the slight jerk, as he thrust his chest forward into her hand, in an unspoken plea for more. One hand continued to work on the hardness that would bring them both pleasure, while the other caressed him lightly with her nails. She could feel his skin react to her touch. Her lips and tongue soon followed her hand, laving, and nipping, until he pressed into her hand with more force. Soon, they would join and reach for the pinnacle. She panted, wanting him now, knowing she was ready, but also knowing that he would never give her want she wanted so soon. Jolinar was coaxing moans from him with her talented hands and mouth, urging him to take what he really wanted. Sam felt the shift in them again, as they once more changed places and the other took control.

Jolinar kissed him deeply; Sam shared every feeling it engendered. She felt Jolinar moan, as he kissed his way down her abdomen. She gasped within their shared mind as Jolinar gasped aloud. He left a love bite on their hip, and then, they gasped again as he nipped them gently.

Jolinar released to Sam once again. She wanted to share these wonderful beings, the fire they were capable of building and maintaining, with her new host. Sam took control, just as they moved over her, and began to feast on her lips giving them long drugging kisses. Their lover was keeping them on the edge, not giving them enough stimulation, in the way they needed and not allowing them to come down from the heights any, or lose the intensity of the sensations that were pouring through them. He gave them only enough to keep them balanced, hanging there, neither falling back, nor diving forward.

Sam gasped as they entered her, and her climax hit them hard feeling as if it would never stop. Their release, also, appeared to be never-ending. But, of course, they both ended, leaving the four of them spent, but blissfully content.

Sam awoke with a jerk and quickly sat up. As always, she looked around to see if anything was unusual or out of place, just in case it wasn't the dream that had awakened her. Only the things she moved earlier in the day were out of place. All was well.

Deciding that, since she was awake, she might as well make a quick trip to the bathroom, Sam swung her legs out of bed, and stood as her feet hit the floor. Grimacing, she made her way across the room and into the bathroom. Then, after relieving herself, she grabbed a washcloth and cleaned up the reminder of her dream.

She hated having 'those' types of dreams, mostly because they left her feeling disoriented and unfulfilled. She frowned, as she realized that she didn't feel the least bit unfulfilled this time, but then, the dream had reached its, she excused herself the pun, climax; therefore, she was not 'on her own' with no relief in sight. It did disturb her that the male leads were Martouf and Lantash. Of course, since she didn't know who Jolinar's—and now her—mates were, or what they looked like, it would be a little hard for her subconscious to make them up and set them into her dream. It wasn't as if she had an active social life with several lovers. Actually, for quite some time now, there had been no one special…probably another reason for the dream. Between that and her attraction to Martouf and Lantash, the dream was probably a given, and she should have expected it.

Well, it was irrelevant right now. Expected or not, it was over, and there shouldn't be another one. She couldn't remember ever having two in one night, but then, she supposed there was a first time for everything and, with her luck, tonight would be the night. She groaned at the thought before pushing it away.

She made her way back to the bed and wondered why Jolinar slept through the dream before remembering that she had told her she would be dormant and to awaken her before her preset waking time, she would need to use a trigger word. They had decided on _medieval armor_. After all, it wasn't very likely that she would need to say that in the general course of her day, let alone in the middle of the night. She sighed softly, as she realized how much there still was to be learned about her new 'friend', her Lifemate. From what Jolinar said, they would have plenty of time to learn about each other. Several centuries. Her mind boggled at the thought.

She straightened the sheet, blanket, and comforter, and then crawled under them getting comfortable. Relaxing into the pillows, sleep came to her swiftly and gently without her even realizing it was there.

* * *

Sam ran down the crystal tunnel searching frantically for someone. Some of the tunnels were being systematically destroyed. They never left any of the tunnels to be found, if they could possibly prevent it. Some of them had already disappeared, and some were in the process of collapsing, but not all of them were being destroyed by them. The bombardment was slowly but surely destroying the tunnels, their base, and she could not find her mates. The last time she saw them, they were in the lab helping to pack equipment to be moved to the new base. She left them there and proceeded to pack the backup information for their data devices and scientific equipment. Between Anise and her, they had finished it and Anise had made it through the Chaappa'ai. She returned to the lab to help them finish, but it was completed and the room was in the process of vanishing. She'd been hunting for them ever since, but she couldn't find them.

She turned and ran back to the last intersection. The only place she had not yet looked was their private Quarters. Surely, they would not have gone back there. She skidded to a stop and lunged through the door. There were chunks of ceiling lying everywhere. This area had taken a direct hit; there was no doubt about that. She quickly searched the main room and almost left, but something caused her to turn back to the small annex that was used as storage. She found them lying face down on the floor, a nasty looking bruise near their temple. She turned and left them to get some water to use to attempt to awaken them. As she ran toward their quarters with the water, another explosion was heard overhead, but farther down the hall…near to their quarters again. No, please no. Running back to the room, she stopped in the doorway and started to scream…

Lantash's ever alert senses immediately woke him, although he was not quite sure why. He scanned the room quickly…there was no threat within these walls. Then he heard a scream followed by heartbroken sobbing coming from the other room. He didn't stop to pull anything on over his briefs. He immediately went to the connecting door and threw it open. Within seconds, Lantash was sitting on the side of the bed. Sam was sitting up, yet huddled against the headboard, sobbing and gasping for breath. He reached over and turned the bedside lamp on, at the lowest light setting, as he watched her grapple with whatever it was that was causing her such intense anguish.

After what felt like years, but was probably no more than a minute or two, Sam's eyes cleared, and she was able to focus on where she was rather than wherever she had been. Seeing him sitting calmly beside her, she released a sob and leaned toward him. He swiftly picked her up and cradled her on his lap, murmuring to her softly, as he slowly caressed her back and rubbed soothing circles on it.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Sam knew that these emotions were Jolinar's, not hers, but they felt so real that for all intents and purposes, they were hers.

As her breathing became steadier, Lantash asked her softly, "What happened, Samantha? What frightened you this much?"

All Sam could do in response was shake her head, a negative movement. She would not talk about what she saw in her dream, but thinking about it brought back the overwhelming grief and pain. She clutched at Lantash's shoulders, before clasping him around the neck and burying her face in his neck, sobbing once again.

Lantash's found that he was holding her to him, trying to soothe and calm her. She was talking, but so softly that he could not understand her at first. When he finally did, he was not sure what she meant by it.

Her fear and anguish still pressing in on her heart, Sam couldn't bear to release Lantash, and all she could murmur was, "Don't go. Don't go there. You'll die. I know you'll die, too, so don't go. I couldn't bear it. Neither could Jolinar. You can't go there. Don't let them take you, too."

Lantash stroked her hair, brushing it off her face, where it was clinging to her wet cheeks. He kissed her forehead lightly, caressing her face with his lips. As her frantic words stopped, and she looked up at him with no denial in her eyes, he followed the urgings of his heart and softly kissed her lips. When her lips clung to his, he increased the pressure of his lips on hers and coaxed her to open for him. As they parted for him, he slipped into her mouth to taste the sweetness of her. The kiss deepened and her arms tightened around his neck.

Guided by memories she was not even aware of having, she brought one hand to the back of his neck and, finding the spot where he was the most sensitive, she began to stroke him, at first tentatively, and then with increasing confidence, as she drew a moan from him. His mouth devoured hers, and he laid her back on the bed before stretching out beside her. His hands roamed over her body, possession in his touch, and Sam returned his growing passion with her own.

His hands slid up and under her camisole top to caress her breasts, but it was snug and, as far as he was concerned, it was in his way, hiding that which he wanted access to most. In a swift, fluid motion, he pulled it up and over Sam's head, before throwing it across the room. Her tap-pants followed behind very quickly. She was not even aware of it, when he skimmed his briefs off and kicked them out of the way.

Sam closed her eyes and reveled in the feel of his hands on her flesh. This felt so right…so good. With one hand on Lantash, through the skin on Martouf's neck, her other sought and found his burgeoning shaft. At the first touch of her hand on him, it responded forcefully, pulsing in her hand.

Lantash could not get enough of his new mate's mouth, and even though he left it to make forays into other areas, they always returned there. His lips seemed to have minds of their own, and they left a trail of fiery kisses from her lips, along her jaw, and across her chin, before leaving for the soft enticement of her throat. He branded the tender silky skin there, leaving his marks and claiming her as his own.

His hand skimmed her sides, caressing them, as he learned her shape. Then one of them started to make ever-widening circles around her abdomen, all the time coming closer and closer to her center. When he finally arrived there, his fingers swept across it, lightly at first, but slowly adding pressure, until he cupped her heat in the palm of his hand, while his thumb made lazy circles around the apex of her pleasure.

All Sam could do was gasp, as he changed the motion of his thumb. Her eyes were heavy lidded, languid; they were bedroom eyes. She watched him respond to her touch, enjoying his responses as much as he was enjoying hers.

His mouth moved from her throat to her shoulder, slowly working its way to the valley between her breasts. He nipped her lightly, and she moaned deeply, as she pressed into him, silently urging him to take more. Still gauging her responses, he discovered that while nipping was erotic to her, true biting was not and, if he wanted to bring her to boiling, sucking first easy and then hard, would bring her to almost mindless pleasure, unless he sucked too hard, too long. She was easy to read; her responses were open, and she sent signals that seemed to say, stop what you are doing, let up a little, I am pleased, I am very pleased, I am hot to the touch, and I will boil over soon, if you continue what you are doing.

He also discovered that her moans were almost a language of their own, and they told a story similar to those of her actions. They spoke of her likes, dislikes, hates, and loves. He continued his exploration and education, discovering which spots were her 'hot' buttons, and which were definitely 'off'.

Sam felt Jolinar awaken, and remembered that she had placed herself into a dormant state, which was a deeper rest than simply sleeping. Her mind clouded, she vaguely hoped she had rested well.

As Jolinar brought herself out of her dormancy, several things came to her attention simultaneously. One, Samantha was naked. Two, Lantash was also naked. Three, Sam was on the very edge of reaching her peak and very soon, Lantash would see to it that she did just that. Furthermore, he would accomplish this action, by joining their bodies, in the most intimate way possible. And last, but not least, if she did not stop this now, immediately, she would not be able to resist what was happening, as she would no longer be able to control her own desires, and so, they would betray their mates, in the worst possible way.

Therefore, metaphorically gritting her teeth, she forced herself to ignore the exquisite sensations that her body was giving to them, and without asking permission, a thing that in and of itself would cause her great guilt, she took partial control of their shared body. She froze them in place; however, Sam could both talk and see. This being the case, her eyes flew open, as her body stopped responding to her commands. And although her movement stopped, Lantash's did not, for a few more moments, until he noticed her very un-natural body language. She was not moving. Only her eyes showed movement, as well as emotions. He did not like what he was reading in them; he did not like it at all.

Jolinar sounded very near to panic, as she questioned Sam, and then reminded her of a few things. _"Samantha, what have we done? How did this happen? Did he take advantage of you? No, of course he did not. He would not do that, as it is not in his nature or Martouf's. Please, explain to me what has occurred." _

Sam wasn't sure why Jolinar was so upset; however, she felt very sure that, if she was this upset over something, then it was a serious matter. She tamped down both her libido and the surge of anger she was experiencing over Jolinar's body snatching, without warning or permission.

Once more in control of herself, she answered calmly, if a bit sarcastically, "_Well, I think that what is occurring is pretty self-explanatory. To answer your questions, 'we' as in you and me, haven't done anything, yet, and at this rate we probably won't. It happened because I had a nightmare and screamed loudly enough that it woke Lantash. I have no idea how you slept through it. It was an unpleasant dream, but I won't go into it now. Anyway, as I was saying, I screamed, evidently very loudly, and Lantash came in to see if I was all right._ _ At the time I wasn't. I was shaking and very upset. He drew me into an embrace and, well, things just sort of progressed from there. Neither of us planned on it happening, it just did. That's it." _

Then Sam's tone changed from neutral and calm, to very unhappy, as she bit out, _"Now that you've found out what you wanted to know, do you think I could have my body back?" _

Jolinar immediately released control, and Sam leaned down and jerked the sheet up and over the two of them, before scooting to the headboard and leaning against it. Jolinar was obviously very sincere, when she explained, _"I am very sorry that I took control of you, Samantha; however, had I not done so when I did, I would not have been able to resist what was happening between Lantash and you. I had to stop us, and the only way to do that was to stop everything. If I had attempted to simply talk to you, I do not believe that you would have listened to me. I felt that what I did was my only choice, under the circumstances. It was imperative that I stop us from committing the final act." _

She paused, before saying quietly, "_When this began, I do not believe you did any thinking. I do not doubt that it developed very quickly. We know that we are both attracted to them. To say I am not would be a lie, because I find them just as appealing as you do. I really believe that, if it had not happened so spontaneously, you would have given more thought to becoming involved with Lantash and Martouf, in that way." _

Sam frowned and then bent her head and covered her eyes with her hand. Crap. She had completely forgotten that they were already married. How was she supposed to remember something that never happened in her life? It happened to four other people, beings, whatever. Still, no wonder Jolinar was upset. If the positions were reversed, she'd be just as upset. _"Okay, Jol, I've remembered that we have mates. Although, I have to be honest, and admit that I really don't feel that I'm married. I don't know them…even through you. I'm beginning to feel a little of your love, but it's difficult, when I've never even met them, don't know what they look like, don't know anything about them, and don't even know their names! I just can't consider myself married, um, mated, bonded, however you designate it. I didn't even go through a wedding ceremony!" _

She sighed. _ "Still, I'm sorry I got carried away with Lantash. Whether or not I feel as if they are my mates, you do, even if you can't remember them, so I should have given more thought to the situation and called a halt long ago. Not only should I never have let it get so far; I shouldn't even have allowed it to start. I hope Martouf and Lantash won't hold it against me. They can't be feeling really great about any of this right now, mentally, as well as, physically." _

"_You are right, Mer Cariad kea. They may very well resent being stopped in such an abrupt manner. The only thing we can do is explain to them why I stopped you." _She hesitated, before answering Sam's other statements. When she did answer her, she spoke softly, her tone very subdued, "_I am sorry that I have not considered how you must be feeling about our mates. None of the things you said occurred to me. I can understand them, though, and I will try to remember that, since you do not feel, ah, married, you may forget we have mates. At least, until we actually meet them." _

"_I'll do my best to remember, Jol. I agree with you that the circumstances led to this situation. Had I taken the time to think, I might very well have remembered. Now, we've gone over it and agree that there isn't anything we can do about what happened, except explain it to Martouf and Lantash. I think you should be the one to explain it to them, though. I don't know enough about it to feel comfortable talking to them about it." _

Jolinar nodded her agreement, and Sam gave control to her. Lantash watched her eyes glow. While Jolinar and Samantha talked, he found his briefs, and then went to their room, pulled his BDUs out of the closet, and dressed. He didn't think they even realized he was gone. He also found Samantha a clean set of clothing, including underwear and bra. He handed them to Jolinar and she nodded her thanks, as she took them. She threw off the sheet that was covering them, stood, and proceeded to get dressed. Lantash was busy in the kitchenette, looking for something, or pretending to anyway. He finally exclaimed aloud, when he found that for which he was searching.

He turned back to them, asking, "Can you tell me how to make your coffee?"

Buttoning the last button on their shirt, Jolinar joined him and proceeded to explain how to make it, as he watched. Sam wished it would hurry up and brew. She was in dire need of it. While they were waiting, Jolinar moved to the refrigerator and took out some milk, then grabbed a box of cereal and two bowls. When she had everything gathered, she handed one of the bowls to him along with a spoon. "It is sort of filling, and it tastes good, for the most part. It is just another oddity about the Tau'ri world. It is called cereal."

Lantash tasted a spoonful. "I see. You are correct it has a rather pleasant taste to it. It is also easy and fast to prepare. I can see why it would be a popular breakfast food."

Sam moaned to Jolinar, _"Is it even daylight, yet? It has to be the middle of the night. I can't believe that it is daylight up top." _

Jolinar chuckled¸_ "I am sorry to disappoint you, my Sam, but it is after six in the morning. You are usually up by this time, if it is a work day." _

"_True. I guess I can handle it, but I rarely get up this early on my days off. I like to lie in bed, just because I can, even if I don't continue to sleep. I do normally doze on and off, though. And, too, I'm usually up by nine. Ah, coffee's finished. Let's grab a cup, and you can tell them whatever you think that you should; it will be over with then." _

"_I am going to tell them the situation, Samantha. I believe that it is time they knew everything that is going on; our feelings…and the traitor on the base." _

Sam nodded. _"Agreed. After what almost happened this morning, we need to explain what it was all about, as well as, why we can't return to your base, yet. Don't forget to drink your coffee. It doesn't do me any good, if you pour it, and then let it sit there, while it gets cold." _

Jolinar grimaced. "_I will do so, Sam. I promise." _

The only response she got was a chuckle, and then a sound of contentment, as the first sip of coffee made its way into her system.

Jolinar turned to Lantash and watched him, as he smelled the coffee. He was regarding it with suspicion. "You would do well to be cautious, when it comes to coffee. I believe it is an acquired taste, though many of the Tau'ri claim to actually like it from their very first sip. It is tolerable with a good deal of milk, a little sugar, and some chocolate thrown in it. Other than that, I find it atrocious, and I insisted that Samantha was attempting to poison us the first time she drank it, after our true blending."

He sipped it, and then sipped it again. "I can see where some might not like this, but I find that I like the taste. I believe I could come to like it a great deal."

"Samantha and Daniel are addicted to it, and it is a generally held belief that Daniel survives on it. Both of them are impossible, until they get their first cup of coffee in the morning."

Jolinar sighed, sounding tired and dispirited. Still, she managed a slight smile, before suggesting, "While this discussion is very cordial and informative, it is not explaining what happened between us, a short time ago, nor is it telling you why I will _not_ return to the Tok'Ra base, _nor will I tell them that I am alive. _In fact, for the time being, they need to believe that I am, indeed, dead. I believe that you will agree with me, once I have imparted my information to you and Martouf."

Lantash looked surprised, at her statement, but managed to respond, easily, "We will listen to whatever you have to tell us, Jolinar. Martouf is now awake and aware of what occurred earlier this morning, so we can discuss that, if you wish."

"Thank you. Perhaps it would be best to explain that first, as the second discussion could take some time."

"You are both aware that I have some memory loss caused by the Ashrak's attack on us. I appear to have forgotten some things from my past, but not the recent past. Most of my missing memories start, as well as I can tell, about eight months ago. Most of the information I have lost appears to revolve around the base, for some reason. As you know, I remember you. I appear to know a great deal about you. I know that we were very close, spent quite a bit of time together, and enjoy each other's company. I know more, but there is no point in going into all of it."

"My memories are coming back, but it is very slowly. It is very frustrating, as well. As with you, I know that I should know you, recognize you, and yet, while I know you, I don't know you, either." She sat quietly for a while, wondering how to lead into what she needed to say about being bonded. Perhaps she should just start talking and hope that the words she needed to explain would be there, when the time came to use them.

Her decision made, she began, "I know that Samantha and I have mates. I know I love them very much. Other than that, I know almost nothing. Not their names, not what they look like, not…anything really. It is probably needless to say, but I will tell you anyway. My Sam does not feel bonded. I cannot blame her. She has no names by which to know our mates, she knows nothing about them, and yet, she is mated. That is the reason I stopped you this morning, Lantash. Samantha can forget that she is mated simply because, for her, it is not real. I, on the other hand, while very attracted to you and Martouf, do know that I have a bonded mate whom I love very much. No doubt, I would have enjoyed the culmination of this mornings, um, event, but I would never forgive myself, if I knowingly betrayed them. Had I remained dormant, it would not have mattered. But I did not. So, there you have the reason that I did what I did."

"_I believe, Martouf, that our dilemma has been taken care of for us. It is time they know who and what we are to them. If they feel the attraction to us that Jolinar indicated they do, then it is only a matter of time, before Jolinar begins to feel guilty for feeling that attraction." _ He smiled at his host, remarking, "_However, it is good to know that, even after all these years, we still appeal to her, and she finds us attractive enough to worry about what might occur. She would fall in love with us again, Martouf, and that is a wonderful thing to know." _

Martouf nodded. _"I agree with both of your comments. It is wonderful to know that she still loves us that much. As for telling them who we are, I also believe, that, at this point, not telling them will, in all probability, have more serious ramifications than telling them. I agree that you should tell them. You already have a—shall we say—closer bond to Samantha, at this time," _Martouf sounded smug.

Lantash snorted…a rare accomplishment to be able to do within your head. _"I will tell them. I just hope they do not get angry because we kept it from them. I will wish for some of the Tau'ri 'luck'."_

Martouf nodded in encouragement, and Lantash returned his attention to their mates. He was actually nervous, something that was very rare for him to feel, regardless of the circumstances surrounding him. He released some calming enzymes and hormones. They worked quickly, and he reached across the small table taking both of Jolinar's hands in his. Perhaps, if he held them tight enough, she could not hit him. His thought caused him to smile, which in turn, relaxed him just a bit more.

He brushed his thumbs absentmindedly across the backs of their hands. Then, raising his eyes to hers, he said softly, "Jolinar, there is a very good reason that you know so much about us. In fact, you know us almost better than we know ourselves." He waited to see if she understood what he was saying without him actually having to say the words. He saw her eyes widen and then become vague, as she listened to her Lifemate.

"_Well, Duh! Jolinar, we must have taken some stupid pills. It was there in front of us all the time. Lantash and Martouf are our mates. I don't just feel stupid; I feel really, really stupid. No wonder it always felt so right to be with them, and it didn't feel wrong to be with Lantash this morning…because it isn't. I just wish they had told us sooner. It would have avoided a lot of soul and heart searching on our side, especially for you. I know it troubled you that you were still very attracted to them, even though you thought that your relationship as lovers must have ended quite a few years back…before you were mated. For me, it was just a matter of thinking that here I was married to one, well, two beings, and I was lusting after another two. This is such a relief!" _Sam was almost bubbling over with happiness at this news. Jolinar wasn't ready to get out the party hats just yet. She wanted it confirmed by them first. Then she would allow the relief to flood her.

Jolinar did not respond to her at once and, when she did, it was to ask a question to which neither of them had an immediate answer. _"Why did I not remember or suspect, my Sam? I remembered so many things about them, and yet, I could not recall them when I thought of my mates. Why? This makes no sense." _It was clear that Jolinar was very distressed over her lack of recognition.

Sam could feel the pain flowing through them as she wondered what was behind her inability to recognize them as her mates. Unfortunately, she had no real answers for her. _"I don't know, Jolinar. You weren't ready to face them as your mates, but I have no way of knowing why. And, perhaps, it wasn't just one reason, but several of them. Your mind was trying to remind you, with the flashes you had, but something kept you from admitting what they were to us." _Sam paused for a short time and gathered her thoughts, before going on, _"Jolinar, when you thought of our mates, didn't you feel uneasy, as if there was some problem between you? Didn't you suspect that you didn't leave completely happy with one another? Could it be that whatever it was kept you from admitting who they were? There could be many reasons…guilt, anger, shame, sorrow. Something you felt about them and your relationship was protecting you. But, it's time to face whatever it was. We can do that now, or later, after you discuss the Council problem. I'll do whichever you want to do." _

Jolinar released some of her tension. _"As you asked your questions, more and more flooded back. I no longer have any missing pieces when it comes to them. Yes, we will discuss it later. I can tell you that all of the things you suggested play a part in my refusing to see what was in front of me. Thank you, Mer Prinekh. We must answer them now, and I believe that I can do that." _

"_I'm right here if you need me. You know that." _

Jolinar caress her softly in thanks, even as she answered, "_Yes, I know you are. Perhaps the time will come when I am able to return the support. I will be more than happy to do so; however, I must also hope that you never have need of it." _

Sam sent her a smile and returned her caress, urging her, "_Talk to them. No doubt, they need to hear you tell them that you remember them and love them still. I'm sure that they're just as distressed because you didn't recognize them as you are. Go." _

Jolinar turned outward and refocused on Lantash, as she told him, "You are our mates. Samantha pointed out the possibility. I should have known. We have been having flashes of, well, of us, in some rather, ah, interesting activities. I can only speculate that for whatever reason, my mind was not yet ready to accept your role in our lives." She shrugged, before offering some possibilities, "It is probably because of my guilt over Rosha's death and our last parting. I do not know for sure, but I will give it some thought, and we will discuss it eventually, though not yet. I must think about it first. I do know that my inability to recognize you was not because I do not love you. I know that I love you both very much. That has neither changed nor faltered, I promise you. Soon, Samantha will love you, as well. She is already very attracted to you, as you are to her. That is a good thing."

Lantash nodded. "You are correct. We are your mates. I will admit that your lack of recognition distressed and concerned us. I am very relieved that you now remember us completely and thank the Goddess for both that and your return to us." He watched, as she took a deep breath and then closed her eyes. It made him uneasy that she refused to look at them.

Jolinar opened her eyes again and returned their gaze. "I, too, thank the Goddess." She smiled wryly, adding, "I was beginning to be very concerned about my attraction to the two of you, and I was also worried about my Sam's interest in and attraction to you, as well. As she pointed out to me, she thought that she was 'married', which I believe is a Tau'ri bonding, to two beings, but she was lusting after someone else." She laughed lightly, before continuing, "Well, two other beings; therefore, she, too, is relieved at this information." She paused before saying quietly, "I would like your explanation, as to why you did not tell us sooner, but I believe that our discussion about my reasons for not contacting the Tok'Ra are more important, and you can explain your reasoning at a later time, if that is acceptable. What I have to tell you should wait no longer."

Lantash stared at her. She was very, very serious. Something told him that he and Martouf were not going to like what she had to say about their home base. No, they were not going to like it; they were not going to like it at all. Not at all.

TBC


	18. A Traitor Among Us Ch 18 AAOF

_**Chapter Eighteen Summary: **Jolinar tells Martouf and Lantash why she left Cronus and didn't contact the base. They are stunned by her revelation that the traitor is not a contact, but a council member. They realize that they can't wait for Jolinar's memory of the traitor's name to come back to her. They will have to come up with solutions to the obstacles in their path; a plan that will achieve what they want to achieve without undue danger to those involved. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13 _

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication _

_**Mer Ann'wyld – **My Beloved _

_**Mer Ma'tae Kea**_** – **_My Cherished One_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Eighteen**_

_**A Traitor Among Us**_

* * *

Feeling Martouf begin to wonder why Jolinar would not speak about their personal situation first, Lantash spoke to him softly, _"Since Jolinar feels that this is too serious to put off discussing, I suggest that you stop doubting our mates and worrying yourself. Jolinar has said that we will discuss our personal situation later, and I have no doubt that we will do so. Nor do I believe, as you are considering, that she is simply trying to avoid talking to us about it. We realized less than a minute ago that whatever she had to say concerning her failure to return to, or contact, the base must be very serious. We both feel that the news is not good. She is not trying to avoid talking to us, Martouf; she is trying to give us some information that may well be vital to the wellbeing of our base." _

"_Yes," _Martouf sighed over his unnecessary worry and doubt, before he murmured his reply,_ "I agree with you, and believe, as do you; she is not avoiding talking about our personal situation. Thank you for stopping my foolish thoughts, before they could truly begin. Now, we will listen to what she feels we must know." _

Leaving his conversation with Martouf, Lantash commented to Jolinar, "I must admit that I have wondered why you did not return to the base." He paused, before adding slowly, as he remembered her earlier statement, "You stated that you _will not_ return to the base, and that they _must_ continue to believe you dead. We do not understand, Jolinar. Why have you not yet, and why do you have no plans to, return to the base?"

"I do not remember if I told you why I suddenly abandoned my mission with Cronus, but I do not believe that we have discussed it." She closed her eyes, for a moment, and took a deep breath. Then looking back at him, she began to explain what occurred, so many months previously, "Rosha and I were incredibly fortunate, Lantash. I discovered a ventilation opening, shortly after I became attached to Cronus's court, which connected two rooms together. One of them proved to be the one that Cronus used most often when he talked to his contacts. The other was a rarely used storage area. I went there often, when I knew that a contact was due to check in with him, and I was not already to be there during the discussion. I was actually in there looking for something, not to listen in on a report. It was not a normal contact time for any of his contacts to be contacting him with news. Why became clear, as they talked. What I heard was his contact telling him who I was. Cronus was livid, both with his contact, for not telling him sooner, and with me, for being Jolinar of Malk'shur. I did not wait to hear more. I left."

"I left immediately, but still Rosha was injured during our escape, which we barely managed. As you know, Cronus sent an Ashrak after us. He also sent many Jaffa. We managed to evade them for quite some time. Sometimes easily, sometimes they were too close for comfort, and we barely missed being caught. I was afraid that, if I returned to the base, I would lead them to it and we would not have time to evacuate before Cronus called in an all-out attack. Rosha was adamant that we not return, unless we could manage to kill the Ashrak and make it appear that we were dead. She was very much afraid that we would cause our people, but more especially you and Martouf, to be killed."

"I realized later that the base was very probably already compromised. When I suggested returning to the base, Rosha would become almost hysterical in her refusal. I never found out why she was so insistent in her refusal. With an Ashrak and a group of Jaffa close behind us, I must admit that I was too distracted to attempt to find out if there was another reason for her behavior. I really do not believe that there was, but I should have been more sympathetic to her fears." She sighed sadly, as her thoughts dwelled, for a few moments, on her previous host.

Pulling her thoughts from her memories, she returned to explaining what happened to them, "We did not know if you had to move the base, after we left Cronus, but we did worry that you would not have been able to evacuate in time, if he ordered an attack. That was also assuming that he knew the location of the base, and we had every reason to believe that he did. I was very torn about what course we should take; however, with our pursuers trailing us so closely, and Rosha so distraught, at the thought of leading them to you, I continued to avoid going there. We did not feel that we should contact any of our own contacts, since I was sure that the Ashrak would find and torture them. We did not feel that we could chance compromising any of them."

"I am aware that I need to inform the Council, as to what has occurred, unfortunately, along with some other information, the name of the one betraying us is lost to me. Information is slowly coming back, as you know, but that memory has not yet returned. That is the reason I cannot return, and why they need to continue to believe me dead. Until I can remember who it is, I cannot take any chances on them realizing that I know who they are, nor do I want Cronus to find out that I am alive. If I return to the base, the traitor will contact Cronus. The only way to avoid that is to know who the traitor is and stop him before he has a chance to report to him."

For quite some time, there was no sound in the room, after Jolinar finished speaking. After a time, Lantash sighed deeply, and then asked, "Do you remember nothing about the traitor at all, Jolinar? I have been thinking of all of our contacts that I am familiar with and attempting to pinpoint which one might not be trustworthy, however, I cannot see any of them informing on us."

"That is because it is not one of our contacts, Lantash. As for what I do remember, there is a little. I cannot give you a name, as I said. What I do know about them is that they are a Council member. I know it is _not_ Per'sus, Garshaw, Selmak, Malek, or Anise."

Lantash stared at her in shock. Finally, he brought himself to say, "Council member? It is a _Council Member_?" He pulled himself out of his astonishment and disbelief, knowing that Jolinar was telling him the truth. Going back over her statements, he pulled a potential clue from them. "You said he. Do you believe it is a male, then?"

Jolinar frowned. "Yes, the traitor is male. I am sure. It is also my belief that he is on our base, Lantash. If he was on another base, I would not feel that I cannot return there without knowing who it is. That is the only thing that makes sense. The longer it takes me to remember, the more likely it is that the base will be attacked, but there is nothing I can do until my memories return." Jolinar sounded both disconsolate and bitter. "I should not have worried about the Ashrak, or Rosha's distress; I should have returned to the base, while I still knew who it was."

"None of it is your fault, Jolinar; the blame rests on the traitor. We will think of something; we simply need to give it some thought."

Jolinar smiled at him slightly, as she nodded, "Yes, I know. I have been thinking about it, as has my Sam. So far, neither of us have come up with a viable solution, and I will not return, without either a plan of action to trap him, or with the knowledge of his name."

She sighed again, before quietly telling them, "If I do not go and warn them, now, the base may be attacked…if it has not been already. If I do go and warn them, since we have no knowledge about him, then Cronus will learn that I am still alive and send another Ashrak."

Once more, she slid into her own thoughts, for a short time, before turning outward and continuing, "I cannot return to the base and warn them, as I will not put Samantha into so much danger."

Lantash frowned, and his voice was somewhat cool and stiff, when he answered her, "Samantha does not wish to be exposed to the danger? I can hardly blame her, after all, as she does not know us and has no sense of loyalty to us."

His demeanor slowly changed, his frown changing to a look of slight confusion and deep thought. He shook his head, obviously in denial of some thought. When he finally spoke again, there was confidence in his words, "Although we still know little about Samantha, she does not appear to be the type of person who would allow others to die, simply because it would mean putting herself into danger…" Even though his voice trailed off into silence, his mind was working quickly through his thoughts and impressions.

Martouf encouraged him, saying, _"I agree with you, Lantash. Samantha does not appear to fear putting herself into danger to help others, even those she does not know. Her actions, during the attack on the Nasyans, prove that she will place herself in harm's way to help others who are unknown to her. I do not believe this is her attitude. This is Jolinar's decision, not Samantha's, and I must admit that I find myself somewhat puzzled over her choice, as it is so completely out of character for her, as well as being against her hosts inclinations," _Martouf stated his opinion quietly. _"There is a reason she does not wish to put her into danger, though we cannot see what it is. It is the only explanation." _

"_I agree. Something more is causing her to make this decision. We must find out what it is." _He paused still considering both his own thoughts and Martouf's words. Lantash was sure that Martouf was correct. It was very out of character for Jolinar to put her and her host's safety before that of her people. _"We must devise a way—find some way to return to the base and warn them of the peril, which now threatens them. I do not believe that Jolinar has given up on the idea of helping them, but she is insisting that there be a measure of safety for Samantha and by extension, for herself. Why?" _

"_That, Cariad kea, is what we must discover and with all speed. There is a great deal at stake here," _Martouf concurred quietly, yet instilled his words with a sense of urgency.

Lantash sounded grim, as he answered him, _"You are quite correct, Martouf, and sitting and pondering the conundrum will most certainly not solve the mystery. Only open discussion will do so and, since it appears to have stopped, it is time to re-engage the dialog; we must get to the heart of what Jolinar is thinking and deciding, as quickly as possible," _Lantash's response was determined, and he turned his attention outward once more.

He only watched her for a few more moments, before asking her, "Why have you chosen your host's life over that of your brethren? It is very unlike you, Jolinar, and, as I was just saying, I do not believe that Samantha would choose this path. Therefore, I ask again, why have you made this decision?"

"It is neither a pleasant nor an easy choice, Lantash. My people or my host? Which is more important? Many would say the base, and yet, I feel that it is imperative that Samantha, and therefore I, survive. I know that you cannot see what it is that Teal'c, the Asgard, and I see within the Tau'ri. You_ will_ come see it with time; however, at the moment, we have very little of that commodity. I cannot explain it to you, since it is something that I would not have seen either had I not become privy to Samantha's mind. Perhaps I should try to explain it, and I will, if you truly wish my opinion, but this is most assuredly not the time to attempt it."

Then, the passion within her voice belying the commonness of her words, she told him, "I cannot afford to allow Samantha to be put into unnecessary danger, nor will I place myself there. You must understand, Lantash, that the chance to ally ourselves to the Tau'ri is important. It is important enough to wait, until I can approach the base in relative safety. The traitor must not become aware of my continued existence, for he would contact Cronus, and that must not happen, for my Sam and I would never be safe, as long as Cronus believed us alive."

She sighed before continuing, "The Ashrak would not give up; therefore, he would be hunting not only us, but also our base, and when he found out I was with the Tau'ri, then their world would become a target. We would have no choice but to leave, not on another mission, but in an attempt to keep him away from our base and this world. It would become a contest between the Ashrak and us; one in which we would kill or be killed, for only then, when Cronus knew or believed us to be dead, would it end. That is the exact situation we find ourselves in now. We are dead, and we must remain so, for I do not believe the discovery that I am alive would be in anyone's best interests, even if preventing the base from being attacked is the price we must pay."

Seeing that he was still not completely convinced, she asked, bluntly, "What is it that disturbs you so, Lantash? Can you not see that I cannot yet go to the base? Do you not understand that I cannot warn them, unless I can also stop the traitor from informing Cronus of my continued existence? Will you not trust me, Teal'c, and the Asgard in regards to the importance of an Alliance, a treaty to bring our people to understand, trust, and help one another?" Her voice conveyed her impatience and exasperation with him, for refusing to understand and trust her.

It was Lantash's turn to sigh, before he answered her, "Yes, I see that it would cause many problems, although, I believe that we could find and stop him before he could harm or kill you and Samantha. Still, I can see why it is simply easier to remain dead to Cronus, and thus, have no need to elude or kill an Ashrak. What I am having difficulty with is your refusal to expose Samantha to danger. You have never before worried about yourself or your host being endangered. Why the sudden change in attitude?"

Jolinar reached up and rubbed her forehead. She was developing a headache, something that should have been impossible, but obviously was not. She concentrated for a moment, and relaxed the constriction of the muscles around the vein that was the cause of the throbbing; then she forced the remainder of her muscles to relax and her frustration to abate. Lantash was exceptionally intelligent, as was Martouf. What was wrong with him that he could not understand the consequences of losing Samantha, or herself?"

"_Jolinar, I don't think he is being dense. He just doesn't understand the reason that I, more so than any other of your hosts, have to remain alive. He can see the logic of us continuing to be dead to Cronus, but not at the cost of the loss of life, if the base is attacked before we remember who the traitor is. He also feels that the Tok'Ra would find and kill the Ashrak, which might very well be true. Of course, Cronus would send another and another, until we were dead, but I don't think Lantash, or Martouf for that matter, is looking beyond the present problem…that of the base being attacked and his people dying unnecessarily." _

"_You are probably correct, Samantha, and I will be more patient with him, until he does understand the 'big picture' as you would say. But he Will understand the situation fully, before I am content." _

Sam laughed, which helped Jolinar to relax, as well, before she told her, _"You go, girl'._" And then she laughed at her, once more, which caused a small smile to briefly adorn her lips in response.

Lantash scowled. "I see nothing in our present situation to smile about, Jolinar," he rebuked her.

"No," she sighed again, as she assured him, "neither do I; however, I was smiling at something my Sam said, and it did not pertain to the situation, as such."

As she readied herself to try to explain to him, yet again, Sam stopped her. She sounded thoughtful, but hopeful, as she told her, "_Jolinar, there's something that Lantash said that both of us have ignored. I even mentioned it, a little bit ago, but neither of us realized the significance of it. He asked why it's more important for me to live, than it was for your other hosts to live. I think he agrees that an Alliance is something towards which we should work, and I think he even believes we should do our best to achieve it. What I don't think he understands is that, at this time, you and I, together, are the only link between the Tau'ri and the Tok'Ra. The Tok'Ra allowing us to get killed because we deliberately put ourselves in danger would pretty much put any chance of an Alliance on the shelf indefinitely. The only trust and knowledge between our races is…us and…an endorsement and approval from the Asgard. Maybe that's what he isn't really catching."_

"_It is possible that he has missed that information. We have been focusing on the Ashrak finding and killing us, not on why that would be a very bad thing to have happen." _She nodded decisively, before giving voice to her agreement, "_Very well; I will point out the other negative, in this situation, and then suggest that, instead of spending our time bickering over the possibilities, perhaps it would be better to spend our time determining how to prevent either event from occurring, in the first place." _

"_I think that's a practical and logical thing to do, and that they'll see it that way, too. Go for it, Jol. It can't hurt, and we can hope that it will help." _

Jolinar gave her attention back to Lantash, and her voice was calm, as she tried once more, "We need to return to the subject at hand. I know you believe that the safely of the base is paramount, Lantash, and I agree that it is important. However, I have to consider the long-term effects that an Alliance with the Tau'ri might have. Right now, the only tie between the Tau'ri and the Tok'Ra resides with us. Samantha and I are the best chance for that Alliance to form. If Samantha is killed because she is put into danger now, instead of waiting for the information that would mitigate that danger, the chances that our two races would ally would be very close to none."

She stopped him, as he started to comment, saying, "I have more to say. Yes, the argument that I am possibly allowing my people to die from an attack on the base, when I could stop it, is still valid. Samantha and I both want to stop that from happening. It occurs to us, that the best way to do that is to stop bickering over these things and instead turn our abilities to ways to avoid both the base from being attacked, and Samantha and I being in danger, while we work toward stopping or mitigating an attack. It may be too late even now and, if it is, there is nothing we could do anyway. So, let us put our minds to finding a way that we can return, inform those who need to know about the traitor, and still remain unknown to him and Cronus, while we try to figure out who he is."

"_She is correct, Lantash. We should be trying to come up with a plan to stop an attack and protect Samantha and Jolinar, while we do it. We've had knottier problems to overcome and have succeeded." _

Lantash did not respond, as he took his time and considered their words. They were right. It was time to focus on what they could do, not the whys surrounding the questions.

He finally turned to Jolinar, and nodded, saying, "I agree. We should spend our time more constructively. Do you have any suggestions with which to start?"

"No, not yet, but neither Samantha nor I have been thinking in that direction. Up until now, we were waiting for my memories to return and tell us who it is. Now, we will begin to study the problem from different angles and attempt to find an alternative that might work."

"_Jol, my team is very good at coming up with alternatives. You might consider asking the General to let us ask them to help. Especially, Daniel, although the Colonel and Teal'c have come up with plans that have worked well, but that are outside what would normally be tried." _

"_A very good idea, Samantha. Would he be available, yet? What is the time?" _

Sam glanced at the clock and was shocked to see that it was a little after nine a.m. They'd been talking for almost two hours. _"It's after nine. The General should be up by now. This being Saturday, he may not come in. Sometimes he does and sometimes not, depending on what's going on, whether an SG team is due to leave or return, all kinds of things. We'll call his office first to see if he's there. As for the rest of our team, the Colonel is the only one that might not be here. Daniel will be with Sha'uri, probably in his office, so he can work. Teal'c will be watching TV or working out in the gym." _

Jolinar indicated her understanding and turned to Lantash, passing on Sam's comments and opinions.

"We do not object to their participation. Will your teammates wish to accompany you to the base? I can understand that they might object to Samantha going alone. If they do want to go with us, it will give the Tok'Ra a chance to meet other Tau'ri besides Samantha. It will be a way to begin to introduce our people to one another, although, a discussion of a traitor among us with them present will not be something the Council will consider. They might become bored while awaiting the Council. They can take a very long time to reach a decision, at times."

Jolinar snorted in derision. "You are using understatement, Lantash. You know, as well as I do, that the Council takes entirely too much time in making decisions. Once I take my seat, I will not be content to sit and listen to their bombastic perorations, their interminable monologues, or their moaning, sniveling, whining, diatribes, of that you may be quite sure."

Martouf's mind went blank, for a moment, before he asked fiercely, _"Did Jolinar just say that—that she was taking her Council seat, Lantash? Lantash?" _

Drawing a deep breath first, Lantash finally found his ability to speak again, _"I believe she did; however, I will not be sure, until she says it again. Furthermore, we must remember that Council members take missions, too, they just do not take long-term ones." _

"_That may be true, but it would still mean that she would be with us more." _

"_Yes. She would…unless she intends to stay with the Tau'ri." _

Martouf grimaced, and then his lips firmed, as he retorted, firmly, _"Then, perhaps, we would have to rethink our present residence. It is worth considering, Lantash, and though I know you recoil from the idea of 'abandoning' your people, the truth is that, if there was an Alliance, then we would be available to the Tok'Ra should we be needed. I believe that Jolinar is considering the same kind of arrangement." _

"_You could be correct. It might be why she is thinking of taking her Council seat. She would be available, yet still be working toward our goals," _Lantash replied, his tone thoughtful.

He decided a calm acceptance of her statement would be best, and so he remarked, "I know of a few individuals that will be very put out, when you do so. They will no longer be able to hold up proceedings, as the others patiently listen to them drone on and on, and wish they would end their discourse before they drive them all insane. They always dislike it, when you are included to discuss something. You are the only one without politeness and do not allow them to ramble. To have you telling them to get to the point or shut up, will no doubt ruin many of their days."

He laughed softly, as he envisioned the meetings. He and Martouf quite often attended Council meetings in one or another capacity. Occasionally they would attend as a runner, if one was needed and they were free, sometimes they were there as security. However, by far their most common reason for attending was in an official capacity, since they did so much diplomatic work for the Council. He and Martouf would have a perfect view of the proceedings, and he was already anticipating the looks on their faces. Tok'Ra were not always stoic.

"Perhaps Per'sus has not kept our seat open, Lantash. It has been a long time, since he last offered it," Jolinar reminded him, but Lantash had a surprise in store for her. Actually, he was surprised that she was unaware of it.

He shook his head, assuring her, "Your Council seat is still open, Jolinar. I thought you were aware that it is your seat and only your seat. If you do not take it, it will never be filled by anyone else. Per'sus was quite clear about that, when Delek wished to advance to a Full Council member rather than as a sub-council member. It was about a year and a half ago, before you were declared missing and presumed dead. When he, and his 'friends' on the council tried to push his appointment through the Council by claiming the 'empty' seat, Per'sus was very firm about it. We were in attendance because of a diplomatic problem, and I doubt if I ever forget it."

He paused for a moment, before he told her, his voice husky with emotion, "I do not believe that I have ever felt more proud of you, than I did that day, and there have been many instances in our time together that my pride in you has been fiercely felt. I am always very proud of your abilities and accomplishments, Jolinar, but to hear Per'sus speak of you in such a way… His words are burned indelibly on my heart and mind; I will _never_ forget them."

Jolinar and Sam could tell that he was remembering what happened, so were not startled, when he resumed, "Delek, for once, remained quiet; however, his 'friends' kept on and on about it not being right to hold a seat for a person who kept refusing it. Since it was obvious that she was uninterested in taking it, it should pass on to someone who would take it, and work for the betterment of the Tok'Ra. After listening for quite some time, and repeatedly refusing to give the seat to Delek, Per'sus stood up and informed them that he could not pass it on. That the open Council seat in question, was not, in reality, open. He told them that the seat always had been, and always would be, open to only one person. It would be open, as long as she survived, and when she died, the seat passed to _no one_. It simply went away. It was very quiet in the chamber, for quite a while, because many were shocked by his words. Then, one of them finally asked why."

Lantash smiled slightly, telling her, "Per'sus told them, "Jolinar of Malk'shur has done more for the Tok'Ra than any one of you could do in your entire lifetimes. She has risked her life repeatedly for us, in ways that you would never understand. She gave up her position and everything that was hers, including her worlds, to be with and help Egeria, _your_ queen. She fought beside her. She protected and shielded her, as much as she could. She helped her to escape more than once, at great risk to herself."

He looked at each of them, before he continued, "I could list the things that she has done for us, in detail, but we would still be here an hour from now, and still, I would not have completed the list. _You will remember this and never forget it;_ Jolinar of Malk'shur is now, and always will be, an honored and highly respected Tok'Ra. Yes, she has faults, yes, she makes mistakes, and yes, we occasionally disagree. Those things are of no _consequence _whatsoever, for her wisdom, knowledge, and abilities far outweigh _any_ of those things. I hope I have made myself clear. _ Do not_ try to take or give that which _no one _has the power to give or to take. It was _given by Egeria _and_ Egeria alone_ can remove it."

It was obvious that Jolinar was deeply touched. She had known that Per'sus respected her and trusted her, but she was unaware of just how deeply those feelings went. She became lost in the distant past, for a short time. Martouf and Lantash waited patiently, for her to return to the present. When she returned to them, there was an aura of deep sadness around her. Quietly, she told them, "I remember Egeria telling me once that she intended to give me a permanent, non-revocable, non-refillable seat on _her_ Council. It has been so long ago. It never occurred to me that the Council seat, which Per'sus continues to offer me, was the same one given to me by Egeria, for her personal Council, so many, many years ago," she whispered the last several words, her voice clouded with sorrow, she stopped talking, and appeared to once more retreat from them.

Lantash moved to her and knelt beside her chair. Reaching up, he caressed her face gently, lovingly, before kissing her softly. "My Jolinar, do not do this to yourself. You could do nothing to prevent her death, _Mer Ann'wyld._ Stop blaming yourself, for something that was very much beyond your control. She would not want you to do this, or to feel this way. She would not consider that you failed her, for you did not. She loved you, and that is something you will always have in your memories. Your friendship was deep, and the love between you abiding. Do not sully it with useless regrets and misplaced guilt."

Jolinar straightened, and gave him a small smile. "You are correct, _Mer Ma'tae Kea_; she would not wish me to still grieve so, or to blame myself, for you are correct, and there was nothing I could do to stop Ra from capturing or killing her. She would expect me to continue to work toward our goals, and that is what I should be doing, not wallowing in grief and remorse. We have things that we must do to protect all of us. We should begin. Come, my loves, let us return to deciding what we must do."

He returned to his seat, but kept ahold of her hand for a moment more. "I agree. We need a place to begin. Where do you believe that should be?"

Sam took control and gave him a smile, as she stood and headed to the bedside table. She picked up the phone, telling him, "I think that I need to make some phone calls, before we do anything else. I'll allow you to clean up our breakfast remains, while I take care of making the calls."

Martouf came fore and sent her a somewhat sardonic look. "Thank you, Samantha, how very kind of you."

She threw a cheeky grin over her shoulder at him. "Well, I thought it was. After all, you did tell the General that you wanted to learn of our ways and customs. I figured this was as good a place to start as any. And Jolinar _was_ the one that fixed our breakfast, so it's only fair that you clean up, now that we are finished eating." She reached out and punched in a few numbers.

Martouf looked down at the two bowls, two cups, and two spoons that were lying on the table. _"Lantash, I hardly think that pouring a substance into a bowl and pouring a liquid over it constitutes 'fixing' a meal. The Tau'ri have odd ways and beliefs, do they not?"_

Lantash looked at the dishes, as well. _"Yes, so it appears; although, I believe I detected a mischievous teasing in her tone and look. I believe she said it to arouse just such a response from you. She is as aware as we are that what Jolinar did could hardly be classified as preparing a meal. What I am curious to know is, what, exactly; we are to do with them. What constitutes "cleaning up"? Should they not be washed, dried, and put away? No, leave the cups, Martouf. I wish for more of the coffee, when we finish, and there is no point in washing the cups, only to take two more out of the cabinet." _

"_Yes, that is true and I agree about the cups." _Martouf frowned down at the bowls and spoons, as they stood before the sink. _"Perhaps they have special soaps for this, as they do for the body and the hair?"_ He glanced around the counter area, but saw nothing that looked like a washing substance.

"_Look under the sink. Perhaps that is where they store it. I noticed when Samantha showed and explained things to us yesterday that, there were several things under it. It seems the logical place to put it, as it is close to the sink." _

Martouf opened the cabinet door and peered inside. _"There is a blue liquid here. I believe this is it." _

"_Good, now look in those drawers. I believe I saw some towels in there. No doubt, they are for washing and drying the dishes. Yes, that one." _

Martouf nodded, agreeing, _"Yes, I believe that you are correct."_ He gazed into the sink, as he set the dishcloth and soap beside the bowls. Reaching in, he fit the metal basket into the sink drain and made sure it fit snuggly, before he turned the water on and added a small amount of soap. Satisfied that he had accomplished the first part of the task, he lowered the bowls and spoons into the water and proceeded to wash them, rinse them, and set them in the empty side of the sink. Once he was finished washing them, he dried them, and then replaced them in the cabinets, in their proper places.

That chore finished, he returned to the table, picked up their cup, and poured some more coffee into it. He agreed with Lantash about the coffee. He believed that they could become as 'addicted' to it, as Samantha appeared to be. He was curious to try it in the method that Jolinar had described, though. And though he knew what milk was, the substance called choc-o-late sounded familiar, but he could not place it right away.

Lantash reminded him, _"The guard said the brown substance they gave us one evening with our meal was called 'chocolate pudding', when we inquired as to what it was. We were both quite pleased with it. If that is what chocolate is, then I find the idea of adding it to coffee…decidedly odd."_ He then added, _"Of course, the chocolate part of the 'chocolate pudding' could be referring to a flavoring. That would make a great deal more sense than adding pudding to coffee."_

Martouf laughed quietly, agreeing, _"Yes, it makes a lot more sense, and I believe that is what it is."_ He paused, and then suddenly turned back to the cabinets. Walking over to them, he began opening doors, until he found the one that Samantha had indicated had 'snacks' in it. He rummaged around, until he found that for which he was looking. He held them up in triumph. _"I remember Samantha naming 'chocolate bars' as a 'snack' food, Lantash, and here they are." _ He quickly opened a small bite-sized bar named 'special dark chocolate' and bit a portion off. It was wonderful. _"Perhaps they melt it and add it into the coffee. That could be done easily enough, I would think." _

"_I agree, Martouf. This flavor is different from the pudding. I wonder if there are different flavors of chocolate. Look through the other bars and see if there are others." _

"_Yes, you are correct, Lantash. This one says 'milk chocolate'." _ He opened it and bit into the little bar. _ "Yes, it is definitely a different flavor. We must ask Samantha about this, and we should take some back with us, if it is possible. I wonder if there is any way we could take coffee with us, as well? Perhaps our engineers could adapt a coffee maker, so that it would work for us._"

"_I have no doubt that they could adapt a coffee maker. _ _This is actually an avenue we did not yet consider, Martouf. The Tok'Ra fulfill many of our basic needs from off-world sources. There is no reason, of which I can think, why we should not become trading partners with the Tau'ri. It does not appear that they have need of anything of ours, other than technology, as far as material objects; however, there may be other forms of barter used here. Gold, silver, platinum…there are many ores that we have in abundance, which they might use and need." _He frowned._ "I wonder if they use naquadah for anything. We could supply them with modest amounts of it in trade. We must remember to bring this up to both the Tau'ri and the Tok'Ra." _

"_I think it is worth looking into, Lantash. Even if we cannot get them to agree to a formal Alliance, we may get them to agree to a trade agreement, and that would be a start, a way to remain in regular contact with them. Of course, we may have that anyway, if Jolinar intends to remain here with them. I believe, in my heart, that is what she intends."_

Lantash sighed. If she remained here, they would have a choice to make, as well. They were needed by the Tok'Ra, however, they could be contacted easily enough, as they discussed earlier. They would not be out of touch, if they remained here with their mates. It was something they would have to decide, when the time came, but that time had yet to arrive. They would face it when it did.

He could hear Samantha talking, and they turned their attention to her.

"Yes, General, If things go well, when we meet the Tok'Ra, then we'll make arrangements for them to remove Amaunet, as soon as they are able. Since we'll probably have to evacuate the Tok'Ra to a new base, that probably won't be right away, and Sha'uri doesn't need to be in the middle of that anyway. She'd probably try to help move things, and she has no business doing that right now."

"Yes, Sir, I did give it some thought, actually. Amaunet is dormant, and while it's true that she could access Sha'uri's mind, when she wakes, I'm hoping that it won't come to that. Anything she learns from us about the Tok'Ra will be irrelevant, anyway as they will need to move their base, and other than that our discussion will center around stopping this guy first and foremost. I'll ask Martouf and Lantash, though, before I call Daniel. If they say it wouldn't be a good idea, then I'll explain it to him."

"Yes, General, thank you. I'll let you know as soon as we come up with a viable plan. Yes, Sir. Good-bye."

Sam hung up the phone and turned toward Martouf. "Do you object to Sha'uri being with Daniel, when we discuss meeting the Tok'Ra? You know that Amaunet is dormant, and anything she learns from Sha'uri, if she's still not been removed, should be moot by then, anyway. But, that's my opinion, and as the General says, it's up to you and Lantash…and he's right. It should be your decision, not ours."

Martouf frowned, asking, "Could we give this some thought, Samantha? We would like to study the idea before we decide one way or the other."

"Sure, I don't have a problem with that. I can call Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill, while you decide." She laughed softly, as she told them, "Colonel O'Neill is on base catching up on some unfinished paperwork the General wanted a week or so ago. He's notorious for not getting his reports in on time. I'll see if he wants to join us, _after _he finishes."

Martouf sent her a smile. "We understand, Samantha. It is a familiar sounding situation. We have been known to procrastinate ourselves, particularly, if the task is something which we would rather not be doing."

"So Jolinar tells me. She's also reminding me that we need to make some phone calls, while you and Lantash make a decision."

"That is very true. We will give you our decision shortly."

"Good enough. I'll call Teal'c." She turned back toward the phone. It was time to get back to finding solutions to the obstacles before them. And that wouldn't get done standing here and staring at the phone. She picked it up and dialed Teal'c's number. They had work to do.

TBC


	19. Ideas, Decisions, and Plans Ch 19 AAOF

_**Chapter Nineteen Summary: **Sam, Jolinar, Martouf, and Lantash, along with Daniel, Teal'c, and O'Neill, attempt to find a way to get Sam and Jolinar safely to the Tok'Ra base and both warn them and catch the traitor. It doesn't take much time for them to come up with a solution, and they begin planning their mission to their base. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communications_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Nineteen**_

_**Ideas, Decisions, and Plans**_

* * *

Lantash and Martouf returned to their quarters, showered, dressed, and returned to Sam and Jolinar's room. Sam was just finishing her calls to the rest of SG-1, to remind them of their meeting, when they returned. "Wow, that was quick," Sam, grinned at them. Daniel will be here in about thirty minutes, and so will Teal'c. The Colonel might take a little longer, but he said he'll be here shortly. It's a shame we couldn't get it done yesterday."

Martouf nodded his understanding, and then asked her, "Is there anything that we can do to help you, Samantha? Lantash and I will be more than happy to assist you in any way that we can."

"Sure. Do you remember how to make coffee? We'll all want some, so we might as well get a pot going now," Sam's answer was slightly muffled, as she was going through her closet and looking for one of her favorite, most comfortable weekend outfits.

"I believe, so, yes. Would you wish for us to do so?" Martouf answered in the affirmative and headed toward the kitchenette.

Sam found the t-shirt and jeans she was looking for, and after removing them from their hangars, she turned towards him, nodding, and answering, even as she headed for her dresser to retrieve some underwear. "Yeah, I'd appreciate it, if you wouldn't mind making it. That way, I'll have time to take a quick shower, before the guys get here."

Martouf turned toward the cabinets and took down the coffee. Setting it on the counter, he reached for the pot, in order to fill it with water. "We will be more than happy to take care of this. We remember how much coffee to add and how much water. Other than that, there really is not much that we could do wrong." He sent her a quick smile, and made a shooing motion with his free hand. "Go, take your shower, and do not worry about this. We will attempt to refrain from causing any major catastrophe in your kitchenette, I give you my word."

Sam still hesitated. Finally, she decided that she should tell them, since they'd been so patient yesterday…after everything that happened between them, and then when everything came out. She was kind of glad the guys couldn't make it yesterday. They'd spent a wonderful Saturday together getting to know one another. The four of them spent all day just talking. She'd slept well last night. No dreams haunted her, as they had the night before. "I wanted to tell you both that, I really appreciated spending all day and last night with you, and getting to know you. It was fun, and I enjoyed myself. I…just wanted you to know that."

"You are welcome, Samantha. We enjoyed it very much, too. Once our mission to the Tok'Ra base is over, I hope that we can spend more time together, just the four of us." He smiled slightly, saying, "You should shower before they get here."

Sam gave them a swift, smiling glance, as she headed into the bathroom, saying over her shoulder, even as she began to shut the door, "Thanks, Martouf. I won't have to hurry quite so much, with you guys doing that for me. Don't worry about food. Teal'c will probably bring doughnuts."

Their shower was very quick, and in a very short space of time, they were re-entering the main part of their quarters with a clean body and clothes, as well as feeling refreshed.

As they entered, Martouf set a cup of coffee on the table for them, and then poured another one for himself and Lantash. Turning and leaning against the counter, he questioned her, "Will the Colonel and Teal'c drink coffee, too? I have been told that Daniel Jackson drinks it, but I do not know about the others. Will they also wish for something to eat?"

"Teal'c won't. He'll probably drink some apple juice, so you can get a glass down for him. The Colonel doesn't drink as much coffee as Daniel and I, but he drinks it, too, so if you would, grab a couple more cups." She sipped her coffee and smiled at them, asserting, "Hey, this is pretty good. Thanks for making it, by the way. I appreciate it. As for food, no, we'll probably all just munch on the doughnuts. There will probably be more than enough for all of us. No doubt, Teal'c had someone bring him in a couple of dozen. He really likes them and it's become a weekend tradition for him to have them brought in. You'll probably like them; they're pastries."

"That is like sweet rolls or small cakes, yes?" Martouf asked as he, too, sipped at his coffee.

"Yes, that's a good way to describe them. Some have holes in the middle and when we say doughnuts, those are the one we usually associate with the word, but there are all kinds of sweet pastries. He'll have a fairly wide variety. I'm sure there will be at least one that you'll like, if you like pastries at all—and Jolinar tells me that you do, even though Lantash moans about the extra calories," she assured him, with a smirk.

Martouf shook his head and sighed. "Yes, she is forever telling him that he should stop complaining and just enjoy the food, since they can take care of any 'side effects'. I am not over fond of sweets; however, like most people, I have my weaknesses. His complaints have become more of a habit between us than anything, now, and should he ever not berate me, when I overindulge, I would believe that there was something wrong."

Sam nodded her understanding and glanced at the clock. Teal'c and Daniel should be there anytime. She was startled when Martouf asked her, "You mentioned Daniel, but not his wife. Will she be with him?"

"Oh, I never did tell you, did I?" She shook her head, adding, "No, Sha'uri won't be coming. She's working with our security people trying to give them as much information, as she can, about what Amaunet knows that she can remember. She's been talking to them every day for several hours a day, and then she takes a nap. She was waiting for the SF to come for her, and then Daniel was coming here. Teal'c had just returned from working out, so he said he'd be here, after he showered. That's why they both said it would be around a half hour, before they arrived. Times almost up, so they should arrive shortly."

As Martouf nodded his understanding, there was a knock on the door. "Right on time," Sam murmured as she went over to open it. Daniel and Teal'c both stood there, Teal'c with the two large boxes of doughnuts, as she had predicted. Taking the boxes from him, Sam started for the kitchenette, sending her invitation over her shoulder to the two men, "Come on in, and have a seat. Teal'c your juice is in the fridge, and there is cold water, as well. Daniel, the coffee is made and your cup is on the table. Your glass is there, too, Teal'c. Help yourselves to whatever you want." She set the boxes down, opened them to see what was on offer, and moaned, as she reached for one of the glazed yeast ones. She really liked those.

Looking over her shoulder, Martouf pointed to a long twisted pastry. "What is that, Samantha?"

"It's a glazed cinnamon twist. They're very good. Try one."

Placing it on a napkin, as she had, he tentatively took a small bite. "You are correct, Samantha. This is indeed very good."

As they moved to sit down with their coffee and doughnuts, Daniel and Teal'c made their choices and then joined them. Teal'c decided on water and got himself a glass, adding a little ice to the already cold water. They ate and drank in silence for a short time, and then there was another knock on the door. Glancing at the clock, Sam stood, saying, "The Colonel must have really pushed it. I didn't expect him to be quite this quick."

She opened the door, greeting Colonel O'Neill before she returned to the table, "Hi, Colonel. Coffee's ready and doughnuts are on the counter. Help yourself and then have a seat. I think we're about ready to start."

Sam began as soon as everyone was settled. "You all know about Jolinar's memory blanks. Even though you all probably remember, I'm going to go over all of the information again, just as a refresher."

She leaned back, before she continued, "So—there are certain things that Jolinar can't remember; however, they are slowly coming back. The problem is that they are returning _too_ slowly." She sighed, before explaining, "You know that Cronus was informed that Rosha and Jolinar were Tok'Ra infiltrators. One of the reasons she tried so very hard to leave here and return to her base was because of that. The traitor is Tok'Ra and, before the Ashrak attacked us, we knew who it was. Unfortunately, although information about him is returning, it isn't returning quickly enough."

Sam sipped her coffee before continuing, "She knows that the traitor is a member of the Council, their ruling body. The thing is, since it is a highly placed Tok'Ra, he has access to a great deal of information. Since she can't remember who it is, if she returns to the base and tries to warn them, she's putting the two of us at great risk. If he realizes that she _knows_ he identified her to Cronus, he'll know she can turn him in to the Council. The only bright spot is that she does know a few of the Council members that she is absolutely sure it is _not_."

She sighed again, before pointing out, "The thing is that Cronus isn't stupid. She left, as he called his Jaffa to him telling them to find her and bring her to him immediately. The fact that she could not be found and was almost captured, as she went through the gate, told him that she somehow knew that she was compromised. If she knew that, then in all probability she also knew who exposed her to him. As long as she didn't return to the base and was on the run, there was little chance that she could inform on him. She wouldn't contact any of her off-base informants, for fear that they would be compromised, so she couldn't get a message to anyone on the base. As long as that situation remained, he still felt safe; however, if she returns, when she's supposed to be dead, he's suddenly not safe anymore. She feels relatively sure that not only would he attempt to dispose of her, he'll also contact Cronus, tell him that Jolinar is still alive, and call in an attack on their base. She's actually somewhat surprised that he hasn't already had the base attacked before now."

"Jolinar and I agree that, if we return without knowing who he is, it will put us at a distinct disadvantage. Right now, Cronus believes that the Ashrak and Jolinar killed one another. She is dead to him, and she needs to remain that way. Once he learns that she is still alive, he'll send another Ashrak. If he's also told that she's allied with the Tau'ri, then he'll turn on Earth, as well. Cronus is extremely—vindictive. He won't let up, until she is dead and Earth is destroyed; therefore, dead she _must_ remain."

"That's the situation. We need to warn the Tok'Ra that there's a traitor and that the location of, not only their base, but in all probability all of their bases, is known to Cronus, and that he could launch an attack against any one of them at any time. I'm sure they'll realize that it means a great deal of very sensitive information is also known to him."

"Now that you know the situation, I'll get to the reason you are here. We need to figure out a way to get the information to the base, get them moved, and figure out who the traitor is, all without letting him know that Jolinar is alive. We need a plan."

Jack stared at her, for a moment, before telling her, "Gee, you don't want much."

Sam grinned at him, reminding him, "We've been in some very sticky situations. This is just one more. The main thing is that he doesn't realize that Jolinar is still alive. There has to be a way around that."

Daniel frowned, then asked her, "Why don't you just send Lantash and Martouf back with the information? Can't they take it to them? They wouldn't see either of you that way."

Sam's eyes flared and Jolinar came forward. "I have given this some thought, and I do not believe that will work. Although Lantash and Martouf are very well respected, the Council members, who I know are loyal, would be skeptical of what he was telling them. Since we are keeping my existence a secret, they would not be able to tell them where they received the information. Such a vague statement, _'there is a traitor within the Council, but we do not know who it is'_ would not go over well, nor would it be given much weight." She paused, and then resumed, "Tok'Ra are, except for the very rare anomaly, loyal for life. They know no other way to live. I am afraid that even from the source, me, they would still not be assured of the information's veracity."

Jolinar looked thoughtful, and then continued, "The same thing could be said, if Lantash and Martouf informed them that the information was from me. They would wish to talk to me to determine, if I was who I said I was. I have been gone for several years, and I have a new host. I would not be trusted, until they interrogated Samantha and were sure that I was who I claimed to be. The more time we spent there, both in interrogation and discussion would increase the chances of the traitor finding out. What reason would Samantha have for being there? It would be obvious that something unusual was occurring and the other Council members would begin to wonder and attempt to join the meeting."

Daniel nodded, as he saw the problems in what they needed to do. They all sat quietly, each going over the obstacles and trying to find a way around them. Daniel sighed, murmuring, "It's too bad we don't have some way to recover lost memories. Without knowing who the traitor is, so that he can be taken into custody, before he can do any more harm, it makes it extremely difficult. In the end, you may just have to compromise and take some chances. I agree that they should be warned though, even if it does put Sam and Jolinar in some danger. We can't let an entire base and its people be destroyed."

Sam came fore again and smiled somewhat sadly, "Yeah, Daniel, that's kind of what Jolinar and I are beginning to believe, too. We didn't want to do it that way because, if something happens to us, the link between the Tok'Ra and the Tau'ri is gone and getting an alliance would become almost impossible. That's why we didn't just go to the base, but it's beginning to look like we may have no choice, if we want to save anyone."

Daniel stared at her, obviously surprised. "Crap, Sam, I hadn't even thought of that. Okay, we've _got_ to find some way around this. There has to be a way; there is always a way."

"Yeah, Daniel, but it's not always one that you like."

Lantash came fore to tell them, "Daniel may have at least given us the start of an idea. We have a device that can recall memories. Unfortunately, it is not precise in what memories it brings forward. Sometimes, it is easy to get the memory needed and sometimes it is not. It could take some time to retrieve the information we want. The obstacle here, though, is how I could obtain one from the base without anyone asking questions as to why I needed it."

It was fairly obvious that Daniel had become very alert, after Lantash told them that they could try to recover the lost memories. "Okay, I think we've solved two problems, now we just need a plan." He turned to Sam, reminding her, "You have the serum to mask Jolinar's presence. Why can't we figure out a way for Lantash and Martouf to take you to the tunnels and use the memory recall device to help you remember who the traitor is? That way, no one would know that Jolinar is still alive, and you could find out who the traitor is in relative peace and hopefully privacy. Once you know his name, it will be a matter of convincing whoever you have to convince. Explaining why Jolinar is masked should be simple, as the reasons are pretty obvious. All you really need is a reason for them to be helping you remember something, and whatever you will be trying to remember."

"_Daniel Jackson is correct, Lantash. It is a very simple plan, and even if it took quite a bit of time to recall the memory, there is no reason that Jolinar and Samantha could not stay with us for however long it takes. We would be able to identify the traitor with the least risk to either of them. They would be safe and so would the base," _Martouf pointed out the positives of the idea.

Lantash quietly went over the idea, before replying, _"I agree, Martouf. It would also be an excellent way to introduce the Tau'ri to the Tok'Ra. If her team goes with us, then we can use them to distract the Council, as we work with Samantha and Jolinar to recover Jolinar's memories. I will discuss our idea with the others." _

Lantash turned his attention to the others, as they sat discussing possible ways they could turn up at the base, without causing suspicions to arise. At a lull in the conversation, he leaned forward in his chair, placing his arms on the table, and stated clearly, "I believe that Martouf and I may have a way to do this. Or we will at least have the beginnings of a plan that we can then build upon."

Now that he had all of their attention, he explained, "I will tell them that the Tau'ri not only saved my life, but that I verified through them that Jolinar and Rosha were definitely gone from us. Because you helped me, when I would surely have not survived, and since Jolinar was the inadvertent cause of Samantha's problem, I felt that the least I could do was attempt to help you."

They all nodded their agreement, so far, and Lantash frowned in thought, before resuming, "We will tell the truth up to a point. We will say that Jolinar took Major Carter, Samantha, as a host, during an attack on a village that you were visiting. You can tell the story of how you evacuated the village and how the Ashrak, unbeknownst to you, was among them. He then managed to find and attempt to kill Jolinar and Samantha, but Jolinar saved Samantha, even though she did not survive, and Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c killed the Ashrak in return."

"We must hope that we can remain vague on time-frames. By doing so, they will believe Jolinar and Samantha were only together for a very brief time, which is why she does not have any of Jolinar's memories. It is still along the lines of the truth, but the details are wrong. We must hope that they do not ask for any, although we must work on our story as far as their blending, for that I am sure they will question…we must allow them to believe that Samantha was an unwilling host, which is true, even if it is only half of the story."

Jolinar came forward and nodded, as she smiled warmly at her mate, before adding to the scenario, "We can say that because of the Ashrak, Samantha has forgotten some information that is vital to Earth. It is something that she learned very recently, perhaps from a villager. That can be the reason they were there. She was to meet her contact, and she was able to get the information, but did not have time to pass it on to anyone else, before the Ashrak found us. Since it was a Tau'ri SGC team that helped you, when you were severely wounded, and Samantha who told you about my death, you have offered to help to repay them and her, by using the memory recall device, to see if you can bring the memory back to her."

She paused, for a moment, before adding, "It will also give the Tok'Ra a chance to talk to and interact with the Tau'ri, without the suspicion that would appear, if they simply walked onto the world where the base is, with no one to act as an intermediary for them. By having Lantash introduce you, it will make things less tense and uncomfortable. Daniel can be his best diplomatic self, and keep the waters as calm as possible. Teal'c, they will admire for what he has done in denying Apophis is a god and leaving him, and in the Colonel, they will see a warrior, someone they can respect. It might be good to have Daniel explain about Apophis and the loss of our operatives. Once they know that Earth was under attack, they will understand that the Tau'ri had no choice, in their actions, and they also had no way to know that Tok'Ra were aboard, or even what Tok'Ra were, at the time."

O'Neill nodded as he, too, thought over everything that was suggested. "We might not want to explain about Ra yet, though…well, unless they bring it up. He's supposed to be part of the 'why the Tau'ri would be good allies to have' and we should hold it back for the time being. At least, until the traitor is caught, and Jolinar can make herself known. And, don't forget that they'll need to move their base, just as soon as they can, after they get the news. I agree with Jolinar; I'm surprised they haven't been attacked before now, too. The guy won't wait forever to do it; I just hope we can get to them, before it happens, not after the fact."

Daniel got up and topped off their coffee cups, thereby finishing the first pot and allowing a second to be started, which he immediately did. Teal'c brought the doughnuts over allowing everyone to choose another one before returning them to the counter. When he returned, he appeared deep in thought, and he finally commented, "I believe that the plan is a good one. We should be sure to take extra serum. If the memories are not recalled right away, and they will not allow us to depart with a memory recall device, we very well may have to remain, until Jolinar can remember his name. I doubt they will wish to allow their technology to leave their base with people they do not know."

Lantash agreed, telling them, "Teal'c is correct. The chance that they would allow you to leave with the device is slim to none. You are unknown to them, and, even though I will be with you, they will not come to trust you on my word alone. Only after they learn more about you, will that trust begin to grow. The Tok'Ra have lived lives of stealth and subterfuge for over two thousand years. It will take time, if they can change their ways at all."

Sam looked around at her teammates, as they ate their doughnuts, drank their coffee, and retreated into their own thoughts. She started to ask a question, when her phone rang, and she frowned as she rose to answer it, wondering who could be calling her.

"Major Carter, here."

"Major, how's your meeting going?"

"It's actually going very well, General Hammond. We think we've managed to overcome all of the obstacles we thought would be a problem. I was going to call you in a while to tell you what the final plan was. We just now finished deciding what to do and haven't gone back over it yet."

"Good. I'm glad you believe that you will be able to do it soon. Let me know when you believe you might want to go, and I'll okay it. That wasn't my reason for calling you, though, Major. I'm calling because I just talked to the President."

"Are there problems, General?"

"No, not at all, Major." He paused, before telling her, "He wanted us to know that he's been doing a lot of thinking about your conversation with him. He's made his decision, Major, and he wants input from you, Jolinar, and, if they are available to meet with him, Martouf and Lantash."

Sam's voice sounded husky, as she asked, "Sir? What did he decide?"

"If we can come to terms with the Tok'Ra, one of which is that we would be allowed to keep some of our blended soldiers here at the SGC, then he's willing to offer the chance to some of our injured soldiers. If they are willing to help our soldiers, then we're willing to offer that help to some of our men and women. If they accept, then the Tok'Ra will have some willing hosts. I'm sure there are other terms we'll have to agree about—time to be with their families, things like that. And, we would also have to agree about who can and can't be told about it. There are still questions for us to answer, such as what about those that are married? They won't age, but their spouse and children will. Those are all things that we'll have to come to terms with, but he's decided to take the leap and figure out those types of details later."

Sam and Jolinar sat down on the side of their bed. Neither could say anything. Finally, Jolinar took control, and told the General, "Thank you, General. Tell the President that we will be more than happy to meet with him again. This news is…well, it is a little overwhelming to tell you the truth. I truly did not expect this outcome."

"I wasn't sure of it myself, but I felt that he was leaning towards doing it. The fact that you suggested that it might be something that severely injured soldiers would consider weighed heavily in the plus column. Our President is the commander in chief of our military, and the deaths and injuries of his soldiers can lay heavy on his mind. When the time comes to suggest an alliance, you have the go ahead to tell them of our offer."

Jolinar sat in quiet contemplation for a few moments, before she responded, slowly, "I do not believe that we should include that offer, when we talk about an alliance, not if that happens soon. There is no guarantee that any of your soldiers will agree. I believe that it will be best for us to wait, until we see if any of them would agree to join us. There is no point in offering something that will never occur."

"Actually, he's talked to a very close personal friend, one who he can trust implicitly, about this. He happens to be a physician, and he suggested a hypothetical question being asked. Something along the lines of, 'if there was an alien species, who would cure your paralysis, in exchange for you sharing your body and helping them fight a war against a race that conquered and subjugated humans in the universe, would you be willing to do it?' It was included with several other rather off the wall questions. It was presented to them as if it was a personality and psyche test. He said that they were instructed to give every question some deep thought, and answer, as they believed they would, if the situation was real and it would happen. About seventy-five percent said that they would."

"So, the next step is for you, Major Carter, Lantash, Martouf, and anyone else the Tok'Ra would choose, to go over their information and evaluations, and choose a few to truly offer it to. That's what he wants to talk to the four of you about, before they actually do offer it to any of them. Oh, and his friend now has clearance, so he will be coming to visit the SGC sometime next week. He wants to know more about what he is offering to these soldiers. My guess is that he will want to meet the four of you, so that he can see for himself that you really do share the body and the human part of the equation is not being suppressed in some way."

"I see, General. Of course, we will be more than happy to talk to anyone you wish for us to, including the soldiers, if that is needed, which I suspect it would be."

"Yes, that was brought up. Well, Jolinar, I'll let you get back to your mission planning. I just thought you might like to hear his decision, now that it's been made."

"Yes, I am very glad that you let us know, General. Thank you, again."

"You're welcome. Let me know what the final plan for the mission is. I'll talk to you later."

"Yes, we will. Good-bye."

Jolinar returned control to Sam. She hung up the phone, and turned to watch the people seated at the table. They had both been talking to the General quietly, and between the soft background music she had turned on earlier, and their own voices, it was evident that the group hadn't heard her and Jolinar's end of the conversation. She stood, walked back to her seat, and reached for her coffee. The conversation hadn't even lasted long enough for it to grow cold. She stared into her cup, her mind trying to run in several directions at once.

"_We must focus on the mission, my Sam. I know it is difficult, after that conversation, but we have a mission that is important. We need to go over the plans again, and then decide when to go. I would like for us to go, as soon as possible." _

Pulling her thoughts back and focusing them on just the one subject, she told her, "_I agree, Jol. As wonderful as this news is, we can't allow it to distract us from our present mission and its goal." _

"_That is true, but I must admit to feeling a sense of…cautious elation…if that makes any sense to you." _

Sam laughed softly, telling her, _"I think you described my emotions exactly, Jolinar. Cautious elation is exactly what I'm feeling at this moment. I have to wonder what the others will say to this development, though." _

Jolinar shook her head, replying, "_I have no idea, my Sam, none at all. I suspect they will be shocked, but I hope it is not in a bad way."_

"_Well, I guess it's time to find out. Do you want to tell them, or do you want me to do it?" _

"_I believe that you should do it, Samantha." _

Sam nodded her acceptance of her comment and waited for a lull in the conversation. When it came, she cleared her throat, which garnered their attention. Suddenly feeling a little nervous, she took a steadying breath, before she announced, "That was General Hammond on the phone."

The Colonel glanced over at her, asking, "Really? Huh. What did he want? It's a Sunday; I didn't realize he was here."

"Well, he—uh—he wanted to tell me, us, that the President called him."

O'Neill's eyebrows climbed almost as far as Daniel and Teal'c's did. Lantash and Martouf didn't react, as they didn't realize how unusual it was for a phone call to come from the President with information for them, especially on a Sunday.

"Well, so—What did he want? Since it's a Sunday, a phone call from him is rather, er, well actually, it's never happened before. He might call on a Saturday—maybe, but never on a Sunday." Jack frowned, as he considered that fact again.

Taking a deep breath, she finally told them, "He…he's made his decision…about, well about seeing, if we would have any hosts for the Tok'Ra. He's actually already putting feelers out to some of our injured soldiers, and—and some of them answered that, yes, they would share their body with an alien, if they could walk again, or recover from whatever their medical condition was. It was a hypothetical question hidden as a psyche/personality test. He…he said that about seventy-five percent said that they would, even if they had to join the alien's people or military, and help to fight a race of conquerors bent on subjugating the human race." She paused, for a moment, before adding, "I think that Jolinar and I are still in shock. It's like my brain doesn't want to work."

Lantash gripped the edge of the table with both hands, as he looked closely at her, to see if she was lying. His Lifemate admonished him, "_Lantash, Samantha is as shocked as we are. From the look in her eyes, and on her face, she and Jolinar were not expecting an affirmative answer to their request." _

"_Yes, I see that, now. I believe we need to know a little more information." _

"_I agree. You must ask her." _

A nod was his only answer, as Lantash turned to Sam, asking quietly, "Samantha, are you certain of this?"

Sam answered quickly, telling him, "Yes. In fact, the President wants to talk to us to help decide on which soldiers would appear to make good hosts. I think they are afraid that, if they don't screen them well, something could go wrong. If we get to that point in talking about an alliance, then they also want someone else from your base, probably someone that works with new hosts to make sure they can handle the life of a Tok'Ra, to come with us, and talk to him, and the doctor that worked on the test they gave to the soldiers. Do you think that any of that is possible, Lantash? I mean, would you and Martouf go with Jolinar and me, to talk to them?"

Lantash looked taken aback by her question, but answered at once, assuring her, "Of course, we would accompany you and Jolinar, Samantha. It would be our pleasure."

Sam smiled in relief. That relieved her mind somewhat. She didn't feel that she and Jolinar were qualified to make those decisions on their own.

Teal'c turned to her asking, "When will this take place, Major Carter? If it is to be fairly soon, then we should set the time to implement the mission to the Tok'Ra, as soon as we can."

Sam nodded. She and Jolinar were almost completely recovered from their shock. "I agree, Teal'c. Does anyone have a preference? As far as Jolinar and I are concerned, now that the decision has been made that we believe we can accomplish it, and the plan put in place, we're ready to go just as soon as everyone else is."

Colonel O'Neill shrugged, telling them, "I'm ready anytime, too. How about tomorrow? It's Monday. Daniel, do you think you could leave Sha'uri, for a while, even if it means being there overnight?"

Daniel nodded, as he told them, "She knows that we have to contact the Tok'Ra to get Amaunet removed. She'll be willing for me to go and take whatever time is necessary, so that she can get rid of her. She has her guards, and the security meetings, so it's not like she won't have things to do while I'm away. She'll be fine."

Sam wasn't sure, if he was trying to convince them or himself, but either way, they definitely wanted Daniel with them. They might very well need him there.

Teal'c smiled slightly, assuring them, "I, also, am free to go tomorrow if that is the day chosen to go. I believe, as do all of you, that we have little time, if we wish to stop the traitor from causing more harm."

Sam agreed. "In that case, we should go over our mission plan one more time. We can't afford to mess this up."

Since they all agreed with her comments, there were no dissenting voices. Instead, they all checked and rechecked their roles, what each of them were to do, and what should or should not be talked about during their conversations with the Tok'Ra, especially the Council. Once they felt they all knew what part they were going to play, they parted for the remainder of the day. Sam talked to the General, and he gave them the go ahead for the mission.

Turning back around after hanging up the phone, she was almost surprised to see Lantash lounging in the sitting area. She gathered the coffee cups and took them to the sink. She finished washing the cups and coffee pot, before she asked him, "Are you getting hungry? We could make something to eat if you'd like. There's plenty of food in the fridge."

When he didn't answer right away, she threw him a quizzical look. "Lantash? Are you and Martouf hungry?"

Lantash's smile was almost predatory, as he answered her, "Oh, yes, Samantha; Martouf and I are hungry. We are, in fact, starving. We have been starving for a very long time, and if you do not object, we will slake our hunger tonight."

Sam stood perfectly still, as he sauntered over to her. His smile had turned seductive, while his eyes captured hers and wouldn't let them go. She felt as if her breath was caught in her chest…she couldn't breathe. When he reached her, he pushed her gently backwards, until she could go no further. Reaching out, he caressed her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "You are very beautiful, Samantha, and we are very attracted to you. Love will come swiftly to us; of this, we are very sure. More physical joinings will only hasten what has already begun to grow between us. We wish to mate with you and Jolinar. If you are having any reservations at all, you should tell us now. If we are moving too quickly, even after last night, then we wish to know that we need to…suppress our desires. We are aware that last night seemed to—simply happen—and that it was done without any actual acknowledgement of what we were doing."

Sam couldn't seem to move. Her mind was racing, but it didn't appear to be getting anywhere. She managed to tear her eyes from his, only to find herself staring at his chest. She could feel Jolinar's emotions, as they swirled through her. Jolinar wanted them. She wanted them, too. She'd been attracted to them, as soon as she met them, before they knew that they were their mates. Last night had been very spontaneous, with no questions asked. It had been pretty wonderful, too. As lovers, they were absolutely breathtakingly beyond compare. Tonight they wanted her to participate more fully, to give her consent rather than just go with the flow, so to speak. Was she ready to do that? She believed so. She wanted it to be so. She looked back up, into his eyes, only to see his face moving slowly toward her. When his lips met hers, she gave him her answer. It wasn't no, or that she needed more time before they were together again.

TBC


	20. Fair Greetings This Day Ch 20 AAOF

_**Chapter Twenty Summary: **Sam awakens to feel Lantash lying next to her and they make love…again. Sam tells her team that they are Jolinar's, and now her, mates. They ready for their mission to the Tok'Ra base, and once they arrive; it is soon obvious to Lantash and Martouf that something has happened. There is a noticeable amount of tension, among the population of the base. _

_**Rating this Chapter: **The first several paragraphs should be considered an R or Mild M rating…It can be skipped, if you prefer not to read romantica. _

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

_**Mer Cariad – **My Dear_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Twenty**_

_**Fair Greetings This Day**_

* * *

Sam scooted backwards, unconsciously seeking the warmth that was radiating from behind her. When it increased, she sighed contentedly. Soon, it wasn't simply close behind her, it was wrapping around her. She frowned, as she brushed at whatever it was that was tickling the side of her throat. It left, for a moment, only to return. It was persistent. The pressure on her neck increased, and Sam's body took the final step into wakefulness. Her eyes flew open and her naked body stiffened. Naked. She was naked. Her mind was blank, until she felt a hand glide softly down her side and across her hip, before reaching for her center.

As his hand caressed her, his mouth continued to draw the silky flesh of her throat into it. Images from the night before poured into her mind, and she could feel her skin heat, as her face flushed. She was fairly sure that Lantash was the one touching her. She learned the night before that their lovemaking styles were quite different, just as different as their touches, their voices, and their words were. Lantash's passion could threaten to burn her to ashes; whereas, Martouf's more gentle desire could almost bring her to tears. Not that Martouf didn't have his own share of passion, because he certainly did, just as Lantash had his own way of gently showing the tenderness he felt for her.

She couldn't believe she was desiring them, yet again. Not after the passion that had burned between them last night, but her moan of pleasure, and the shiver that shook her, insisted that her passion for them was not sated, after all. It seemed that her satiation point had not yet been reached.

He left her throat, after leaving a dark love-bite on her. She turned her head toward him, and he took the opportunity to capture her lips, in a deeply satisfying kiss. As he ravished them, Sam moaned again, trying to turn her entire body into his; however, he held her anchored to him, with her back pressed against his chest. She moved her hand up and behind her, until she could caress Lantash, in the way that Jolinar had shown her the previous night. A sharp gasp, followed quickly by a low moan, brought a small smile of triumph to Sam's lips, for a moment. She'd found the area that Jolinar assured her would bring both host and symbiote exquisite pleasure.

Sam continued to caress Lantash, as he continued to work his own kind of magic on her body. Just as she became desperate to finish the dance that Lantash began, she heard him growl low in his throat, as he gave into his own desires. He positioned himself and, as he took her mouth in another deep kiss, he plunged into her aching, wanting body. They held themselves that way for a long moment, relishing the feeling of their joining, before they slowly began to move. Soon, their bodies were leading them, instinct showing them the way to what they wanted and needed. Lantash drove himself into her warmth one last time, and brought them to their peaks.

As they floated in the afterglow of their lovemaking, Lantash moved away enough that she could roll onto her back. He propped himself up on one arm and watched her, as she stretched languorously. Lying there beside him like that, she reminded him of a sleekly beautiful cat. She looked lovely, harmless, even a little lazy, as she lie there. He smiled, as she finally opened her eyes and looked up at him. She returned his smile, with a small one of her own, and he realized that she truly was a little bit shy around them. Last night had been different; it was dark, for the most part, and Jolinar and Martouf were awake and with them.

But the two of them had stayed up all night talking, needing to be together alone, for a time. No doubt, he and Jolinar would take some time together, as well, just as he was now taking advantage of their slumber, to spend time alone with Samantha. Martouf would do the same at some point, when he and Jolinar were asleep or dormant, but Samantha was awake. He reached out and caressed her cheek gently. "There is no need to feel uncomfortable around me, Samantha. Even though you have only known us physically for two days, you know us mentally very well. We have been together for almost a hundred years. Take the comfortable feeling from Jolinar and use it, when you begin to feel somewhat uncomfortable."

"I know. I mean, I do feel the comfort that Jolinar feels, and I feel like I've known the two of you for forever. When I feel those things, I'm very comfortable. But when I realize I've only really known you for two days, I feel…oh, I don't know exactly, what it is that I feel, but it leaves me a little uncomfortable with you. I'm sorry you noticed. I've been trying to push it back and feel Jolinar's emotions instead. That does help, as you said." She shook her head, telling him, "I think I'm just being stupid. After all, what I do is my business and what other's think isn't really important."

Lantash frowned, before asking, quietly, "Your colleagues will look down on you for coming to our bed? You will be talked about by the others. That is part of the problem, is it not?"

Sam nodded briefly, but didn't say anything.

"What must we do to stop this for you, Samantha? We will wait, if that is what it takes to make you feel comfortable with us."

Sam smiled at him, but shook her head. "No, Lantash, I don't want to do that. I—I like being with you and Martouf. It feels right to have you in my bed. I don't want you to leave it because someone might gossip about us."

She pulled herself up to the head of the bed and leaned back against the pillows, and Lantash lie down near her side, where he could see her. She continued with their discussion, telling him, "Everyone is going to have to get used to me being Tok'Ra. They'll have to accept it, and that means all parts of it. They are just going to have to understand that we're—well, we're the same as married. That's what I'll have to get them to understand. They can accept that, or not, and I really don't think I'll care all that much in a day or so, and soon, I won't care at all. I've already lost a lot of my uneasiness, and every time we make-love, I lose a little more of it. It'll be okay, so, please don't worry about it, all right?"

Lantash gave her a wry smile, before telling her, "I cannot forget it, Samantha; however, I can promise to give you the time you say that you need. If after a few days, you are still feeling uncomfortable, then we will revisit our discussion, yes?"

"Yes. I can live with that." She frowned, before asking him, "Why is Jolinar so heavily asleep? Is something wrong? And Martouf didn't come forward either. Is there a problem?"

"No, Samantha, there is no problem. Martouf and Jolinar are both asleep because they did not sleep when we did. They chose to spend the time together, alone. Just as I chose to spend this morning alone with you. Martouf will want to spend time alone with you, as well. I helped him into a deeper sleep, so that our, ah, activities, would not disturb his rest."

"Is that a common practice? Is that how you spend alone time?"

"Yes. Everyone needs time alone, and this is how we spend time with our mates one on one. Most of the time, we are all together, but every once in a while, we wish to spend time with each of our mates separately. It does not mean that anything is wrong."

Sam nodded. "It makes sense. I'm glad you explained it to me." She caught sight of the clock and gasped. Groaning, she told him, "If we don't get moving, we won't be ready on time to leave for the Tok'Ra base. Do you want to shower first?"

"No, you go ahead. I will make some coffee."

"Right." She jumped out of bed, and headed for the shower. She could get her clothes, when she was finished. It wasn't like they'd never seen her naked. Her shower was very quick. She wrapped a towel around herself, wrapped one around her hair, and walked into the other room, to see Lantash drinking a cup of coffee sans clothes. She finished towel drying her hair, threw the towel over the back of a chair, and grinned at him, as he handed her a cup, and poured her some coffee.

Noticing her appreciation of their 'manly attributes', he smirked smugly, before commenting, "We are not overly modest among the Tok'Ra, but we do try to conform to our host's views. After a hundred years, Martouf has lost his previous modesty, but since he is still sleeping, it would not matter, anyway. I will shower, as soon as I finish my coffee, _Mer Cariad._"

Sam nodded her agreement and moved toward her closet to grab some BDUs, when there was a knock on the door. Lantash was closer to it than Sam was, so he grabbed the towel she had used to dry her hair, and slung it low on his hips. Before she could stop him, he opened the door to two very shocked and dumbfounded humans, and one Jaffa with an eyebrow trying to crawl off his forehead. "Come in, please. Did we oversleep?" He glanced at the clock, and it said that they were early.

They walked in on what appeared to be autopilot, and Sam stood completely still and stared back at them, as they stared between her and Lantash. She wished she could slam her head into a wall. Sighing, she waved them toward the kitchenette and the coffee, before turning around and finishing what she started. Grabbing her clothes, she went into the bathroom, put them on, and returned to the other room, where a very strained silence seemed to have taken root.

"Lantash, go ahead and shower, if you want. I'll…try to explain it to them."

He bowed his head to her, saying, "As you wish, Samantha. I will be very quick, so if you wish to wait, I will return shortly."

"I'll play it by ear. Go on. The sooner you get started, the sooner you will finish."

He took his clothes with him into the bathroom. Sam sat down and proceeded to pull on her socks and then her boots. After she finished with that, she combed her hair out, so that it wouldn't dry in some odd way. She was ready to leave on their mission, except for her weapons.

She finished her coffee, poured herself another cup, and joined her teammates, as they sat at the table. Sam had told Lantash that she would tell them; however, she wasn't sure how to start the conversation, so she sat quietly, praying to any god that could hear her that Lantash would return very soon. She heard the shower shut off and thanked whichever deity heard her and answered.

Colonel O'Neill cleared his throat, "So, Carter, I take it that Martouf and Lantash's shower is broken?"

Sam cocked her head at him, and gave him a "give me a break look", before assuring him, "Not that I am aware of, Sir. It appeared to be working fine yesterday, but I don't think they've used it since then."

The bathroom door opened, and Lantash padded barefoot into the room. He collected his coffee cup, poured another cup, and sat down next to Sam. Very close to Sam. The gesture spoke volumes, but the other three still weren't exactly sure what it was saying.

The Colonel cleared his throat again, this time asking, "Didn't you say that Jolinar had, ah, mates?"

Sam smiled for the first time, since they entered her room. "Yeah, I did." She rested her hand on Lantash's shoulder and Daniel's eyes rounded, as he leaped to the correct conclusion.

"Oh, wow."

Jack scowled at his friend. "Oh, wow, what, Daniel?"

"Well, um," he looked at the couple, saw no censure in their eyes, and understood Sam's strategy of letting him break the news to the others. He started again, saying, "Well, yeah, ya see, Jack, it's…" He trailed off once more, and looked over at Sam and Lantash again.

Sam finally gave in. It really wasn't fair to dump it on Daniel, anyway. "Colonel, what Daniel is trying, so unsuccessfully, to tell you is that Lantash and Martouf _are_ our mates. They didn't tell us, because normally doctors want amnesia victims to remember on their own. Because of some things that came up yesterday, they determined that not telling us would be worse than telling us. It's the reason why Jolinar seemed to know everything about them. As soon as they told her, she remembered. They aren't lying; they are our bonded, joined mates. So, we're…like…well, married." She smiled, as his jaw dropped. It wasn't often that she could completely stun her Commanding Officer.

"Ah…" he looked from one of them to the other and tried again, "Shouldn't you have like—a getting to know you time—or something?"

Sam shook her head. "It isn't necessary, Colonel. All I have to do is decide to allow Jolinar's feelings for them to influence me. I found them attractive from the start, and I was very drawn to them…on several levels. As a man. As a symbiote. As a joined being. I liked them personally. I liked their personalities, and I liked their looks. I found them…sexually appealing. I'm already in love with them, so we don't need a 'getting to know you time'."

Daniel was the first to respond, exclaiming, "That's really interesting, Sam. I have to admit I wondered what happened when a new host came into a pairing." He frowned. "But Martouf and Lantash don't have any feelings to be influenced by, so how is that gonna work out? If…well, if you don't mind my asking, that is."

Lantash gave a small shake of his head, before answering, "That is quite all right, Daniel. It may set your minds at rest, if you can understand this part of our lives." He paused, for a moment, before proceeding, "You commented that Martouf and I had no feelings for Samantha from which to be influenced. That is not true. In fact, we have a very strong love, which we can allow to influence us. However, for now, we are using our own attraction for her to color our feelings. I will not lie and tell you something stupid. We did not fall in love with her at first sight. However, even before we knew that she was our mate, we found her to be beautiful, kind, and extremely intelligent. It was obvious that she was an excellent soldier. She has friends who would die to keep her safe, something that tells a great deal about a person. She is respected by others, another way by which to judge someone. She is compassionate. So, we met a woman who was beautiful, kind, intelligent, brave, compassionate, well-liked, and well-respected. We were immediately strongly attracted to her physically, as well."

"When we realized that Jolinar and Samantha were Lifemates, but that they did not know us, it was a shock. Still, once we came to terms with Jolinar's memory loss, we were able to begin to get to know Samantha. Then, too, there is the great love that we have for Jolinar. Tok'Ra love as one and mourn as one. They also, tend to transfer the love they hold for the symbiote to the new host. It is a matter of seeing both of our mates when we look at Samantha. It is a rather difficult concept to understand. If you cannot understand the concept of loving as one entity, and loving an entity, as a whole, then you can understand this… for the next four or five hundred years, Samantha shall be loved deeply and truly by both of us, as well as by Jolinar. We will willingly die for her should we be called upon to do so. We will never abandon her, or hurt her, in any way, be it mentally or physically. She will be everything to us, for that is how Tok'Ra love."

"A symbiote loves his host just as deeply as they love their mates. Jolinar will come to love Samantha, and when Samantha passes from us, we will both mourn deeply for her. As you know, when we found that Rosha truly was, as she had been declared by the Tok'Ra, deceased, Martouf had difficulty handling it, even after six months. We mourn deeply for a short time, and then the loved one is put into a special place within us. We have perfect recall, and we can recall and feel the love we have felt, for each and every host and/or mate we have ever had. In reality, Samantha will be loved, as long as I survive, for my love for her will never die, until I pass on to the next path. Then, too, who is to say that I will not take my love of her with me there, as well?"

Colonel O'Neill, looking both surprised and somewhat uncomfortable, nodded to Lantash, saying, "We can't ask for more for her than that." He glanced over at Sam and, surprised to see her crying quietly, became almost panicky, calling out, "Hey! Hey! Carter! What's wrong?"

Sam sniffed. "I'm sorry. It's just..." She shook her head, before mumbling, "It doesn't matter. I'm okay, now."

"It's okay, Sam. That kind of love is hard to take in. Give it time, and it won't feel so overwhelming and—scary," Daniel advised her softly.

Sam nodded, and then gave a shaky laugh. "Yeah, Daniel. Thanks. Perspective, that's what I needed." Looking down and seeing that Lantash's feet were still bare, as well as being quite attractive for feet, she used them to distract herself and change the subject, telling him, "It's almost time to leave, and you don't even have your socks and boots on, Lantash. You need to finish getting ready."

"You are correct, Samantha. I will be ready momentarily. You should awaken Jolinar, as well as inject yourself with the serum. Be sure you take several doses with you. How long will each injection last?" He glanced at her, as he asked more about the new serum they had received from Thor.

"It depends on the dosage. I'll take a twenty-four hour dose. I've got enough for fourteen days, and if we are there that long, and I still need to use it, then we aren't visiting, we're prisoners."

Lantash nodded his agreement, his thoughts grim. He hoped it would not come to that, but he could see it happening, at least temporarily, if some of the younger Base Council members became involved. He sighed and decided not to borrow trouble, before reaching for Martouf's consciousness and awakening him.

Martouf became alert, at once, asking, "_Are we ready to depart to our base, Lantash?" _

Lantash nodded, telling him, _"Yes, and so that you know, without having to rummage around in my memories, we have informed Teal'c, Daniel, and O'Neill, that we are Samantha's mates." _ He grinned slightly, before adding, _"They arrived early, to find both Samantha, and I, wrapped in bath towels. Look for the visual of their faces, for their expressions were definitely amusing. It was quite clear that they were shocked, so we told them the truth, rather than attempt to come up with some obviously bogus and unlikely story. We have yet to inform the General; however, I hope to do so, before the others do it. I suppose I should mention it to them, to keep them from saying anything to him." _

Martouf murmured his agreement,_ "Yes, I believe that is a very sound idea. He should hear it from us, not from someone else." _

Lantash picked up their pack, and their zat'nik'tel, which they had been surprised to receive back, along with the pack that was for their use.

Sam glanced around at her teammates—and her mates. Everyone appeared ready to leave, so she reached out, opened the door, and motioned for everyone to go through it. They all grabbed their things, and filed out of the room. She quickly glanced at the coffee pot and noted that it was off. It would do an auto shut off, if she forgot, but she still didn't like to leave it on, when she left on a mission, especially one of unknown duration. After that one last quick check of the room, she woke Jolinar, grabbed the pack lying by her feet off the floor, and joined her teammates, as they headed for the Gateroom.

They stopped and picked up their weapons, and Lantash looked down at what he knew was a Tau'ri 'side arm'. He looked back at Jack O'Neill and raised an eyebrow in question, as to why he was being given one.

"Okay, it's like this. We have no way to know, for sure, whether or not your people have been attacked, whether or not they are still there, or whether there are now hostiles there. It may seem unlikely, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I want to know that you can defend yourself, so we don't have to try to keep you safe. I know you're a soldier, and after two thousand years, you're a good one, otherwise you wouldn't be here; you'd be long dead. Anyway, I'll just feel better knowing that you're armed. I know that you and Carter stopped at the firing range, for a while, when she took you on a tour of the base, to show you where you were allowed to go. She said you did really well with it, and I'd just as soon have you armed with something a little more long range than the zat. Yeah, I know it will only double the distance that you can use it, but I'd rather take an enemy down at fifty meters away than at twenty-five. Don't forget that it can fire faster than a zat, too. There is no 'wait' before you can use another bullet, so be prepared to use it. Don't worry; we won't give you one of these babies—at least, not just yet." He patted the MP-5 that hung off his shoulder."

Lantash nodded. Samantha had not asked him to learn how to use it, as she had the Beretta, and he would just as soon not carry one, since with that, he had no experience at all. At least, he had fired the…M-9/Berretta, as she had told him it was called. No doubt, the MP-5 would be more deadly, but without even having picked one up, he felt more confident, as he was.

"_If we remain with the Tau'ri, we will be trained in the use of all of their weapons. Primitive, perhaps, but as O'Neill pointed out with the M-9, it has more distance and a faster firing capacity. So which is really the more useful? Primitive or advanced? I believe that each would have its uses…the handgun, if you needed range and wished to kill from farther away. The zat'nik'tel, if you needed stealth or to stun and capture an enemy…annihilate them completely, or clean up after a battle, when there is no way to bury the dead," _Martouf pointed out could see a lot of merit in the 'primitive weapons' that their mate's people used. They had their place and there uses and should not be discounted.

"_I believe you have made some very good points, Martouf. Perhaps, as time goes on, and our two races become more trusting and less…disdainful and critical…of one another, we can arrange for some Tau'ri weaponry to be shown to us. I believe that Per'sus would be interested in what these weapons can do and, should an Alliance be achieved, we may well see an exchange of technology and weaponry. We can but hope to see it happen," _Lantash, responded, his thoughts turning to a much hoped for future.

Samantha handed him a holster and showed him how to wear it, as he nodded to Colonel O'Neill. "Very well, Colonel. I understand your caution, and it is probably a very intelligent thing to do. You are correct in your statements and we do not know what we will find when we arrive. If the traitor has compromised the base, then anything could have happened, may be happening now, or could happen at any time. It is best to be well prepared."

He glanced around to see that everyone had what they needed, but before he could tell them to head for the Gateroom, Sam turned to him and said, "If you don't mind, Sir, I need to make a phone call, before I leave. It shouldn't take more than five or ten minutes."

Even Jack could see the tension on her face, and since he knew about her father, and that he now lived in Colorado Springs, he nodded his okay, telling her, "We'll wait for you in the Gateroom, Carter. See you in a few."

"Yes, Sir, I won't be long."

Jack turned to the others, saying, "Let's get this show on the road," before striding down the hall toward the Gateroom."

Sam entered a small room, and slipped into an unoccupied chair. There was no one else in the room, and she chided herself for not thinking to call him, before she left her room. Her dad answered more quickly than she expected, and she almost stumbled over her words, but Jolinar steadied her, and she managed to sound normal, as she greeted him, "Dad, hi, it's me, Sam."

She frowned at his response, before asking, "What do you mean, why am I calling? Dad? You just told me that you have cancer, you can't…"

After listening for a bit she finally sighed, saying, "All right, okay, never mind. Listen, uh, I'm about to go on a little, um, trip."

"Yes, it's for the Air Force."

As General Hammond walked toward the Control Room, he saw her on the phone and stopped to wait, until she finished her call.

She sighed quietly, before she answered his question, "It's…it's not important where I'm going, Dad. What's important is that I may be gone a while, and I just wanted to call and see how you're doing."

"You're sure?"

She hung up the phone. He hadn't said good-bye. General Hammond decided to join her, for a few moments. "Your father, Major?"

After she glanced at him, Sam stared stoically at a spot on the wall, but answered quietly, "Yes, Sir."

"How is Jacob?"

She gave a shrug that spoke of feeling helpless, as she told him, "He claims he's okay, not that he'd tell me, if he weren't. Did you know he actually got an apartment here in town? Several weeks ago; he didn't even tell me until I was back from Washington D.C., and then he just called and gave me the address and phone number."

The General nodded, before he told her, "He wanted to be closer to his daughter during…"

She finished his statement for him, as he trailed off, unwilling to say it to his friend's daughter, "During his last days. Sir, this is the first time I've left on a mission where I've felt like I might be leaving something behind. I feel like I might miss something important."

"That's very understandable. I'll put a temporary replacement on SG-1. You can stay here," General Hammond offered.

She gave him a wry smile, before saying, "I wish I could, Sir, but I don't think I'm replaceable on this mission. We all talked it over and agreed that not even Martouf and Lantash can do this. Jolinar is probably the only one that can convince them of the reality of a traitor and where to look for him, since she's the only eyewitness to his perfidy."

The General shook his head, "That may be true, Major, but your father…"

Sam shook her head sharply, telling him, "Sir, it's okay; he doesn't want me around, anyway."

"Sam, I've known Jacob a long time. That's not true."

"Sir, he's always too concerned about appearing the strong soldier. The last thing he would want is for me to see him in a hospital bed losing a battle. I should get going, Sir, I don't want to hold things up." She gave him a very small brief smile, before turning and walking away.

"Major!" The General called after her.

Sam stopped and turned back to him.

"You're more like your father than you'd like to admit."

She considered his words, before she smiled sadly. "Yes, Sir. I know," she admitted, as she turned and started walking briskly toward the Gateroom, her teammates, and her mates. Then realizing that there was something that the General needed to know, she turned back. He was still standing there seemingly lost in thought. She turned around, heading back toward him and a few steps brought her within speaking distance. "General Hammond?"

The General looked up in surprise. "Yes, Major? Did you change your mind about going?"

Sam shook her head no, as she stopped beside him, saying, "No, Sir, I didn't. However, I did remember that there is something you should know before the base gossip gets a hold on it." She stopped unsure of what to say. She opened her mouth to tell him and again only managed to close it without saying a word. This was so stupid.

Just as she was about to attempt to tell him for the third time, a now well-known voice came from the man approaching them and explaining, "Samantha, O'Neill sent me to see if you are about ready. He questioned her, as he reached her side, "Is there a problem?"

Sam shook her head but sighed, telling him, "No, not really. I was, um, trying to—to tell the General…"

Telling her commanding officer that she was suddenly "married" was difficult for her for, he was sure, two reasons. The first, she did not know how, or if, it would affect her military status, although he suspected no change would occur. The second was that she was expecting the same response from him that she received from the Colonel.

Therefore, he took the next step, which brought him next to her and as he stepped to her side, he leaned over and gave her a brief kiss on her cheek. He then turned to the General informing him, "General Hammond, what Samantha is attempting to tell you, is that Martouf and I are her and Jolinar's mates. Since our healers have always said to let an amnesia victim remember things on their own, we felt that we should not inform them. Then yesterday, some things came up, and we realized that not telling them would be much worse than telling them. So we told them, and as soon as we did Jolinar's memories pertaining to us came back. It is why she appeared to know so very much about us. When Tok'Ra _join or bond_, whichever word you prefer, with a mate, it is the same as your marriage. Vows are exchanged, and where you use rings, we use bracelets or necklets. We felt that we should be the ones to inform you, not the local rumor mill. Samantha is considered my wife now by my people, although they are not familiar with that word."

General Hammond looked at Lantash blankly, for a moment, before he turned to look at Samantha Carter. Finally, he asked her, "Are you agreeable to this, Major? Doesn't this seem a little rushed?"

Well, it was close to Jack's response and made Sam smile. He could see in her eyes that it made her happy, even before she spoke to him. "General, I was attracted to them as soon as I met them. That attraction continued to grow the more I was with them, which was becoming somewhat upsetting, since we knew that we had mates. We were very relieved to find out that they were those nebulous figures in the background of our lives. The Tok'Ra love and mourn as one. I can share everything that Jolinar does. General, I know that it's hard to comprehend, but I 'feel' as if I've known them and been married to them for a very long time. They have been together for almost a hundred of our years. I can share those feelings with Jolinar. We don't need a 'getting to know you' time. The same holds true for accepting them as a mate. My own feelings are still growing, but I also feel Jolinar's feelings. If I wanted to, I could simply accept those as my own, however they prefer the mate to develop some of their own feelings which I am, but we will share Jolinar's feelings very soon now, as well. I guess the short answer is yes, I am happy with the situation."

As the General turned his gaze to Lantash he did not wait for the question to be asked, he simply told him, "True, we do not have a partner whose love of Samantha could be added to our own feelings. Martouf and I both are very attracted to her, we like many things about her; we know that we are falling in love with her. Even if we did not fall in love on our own, we would still come to love her. In some ways, we look on our mates as a single entity. The love we have for Jolinar will also be felt for Samantha." Glancing at a clock on the wall, Lantash sighed and suggested, "We should be going, General, however, if you are interested in how the Tok'Ra feel, we would be happy to meet with you at any time. It would probably be a good idea so that there are no misconceptions. Shall we set a time and date for later to once again discuss and explain how it all works?"

General Hammond smiled in relief. He could see that this man, or men, might think they were 'falling in love' with Samantha Carter, but he was very sure that they already did love her. "I think that would be an excellent idea, Lantash. I would truly like to understand how it all works. When you return we will set a time to get together, perhaps more informally over lunch or some other more neutral place."

Lantash smiled at him, bowed his head in acceptance, and turned to Samantha, asking her, "Are you ready to go now? We are only a few minutes behind schedule now, for it is still quite early."

Sam nodded her consent and after bidding the General Good-bye, they joined their teammates and watched as the fluctuating blue pool soon greeted them. Then, they were gone.

As the wormhole shut down, General Hammond headed back to his office thinking about the Major's conversation with her father. He sighed sadly. It was a shame that father and daughter couldn't be closer to one another…especially now.

* * *

Martouf, Lantash, and SG-1 stepped out of the Stargate onto a world that appeared to be covered with sand. "It's either nothing but trees or nothing but sand. Why can't just one world have a nice middle ground…a beach, a few trees, some grass," the Colonel complained, as they walked forward.

Martouf was fore, and he smiled at him, replying, "For some reason, the Tok'Ra appear to end up on desert planets more often than not. Of course, there is rarely anything on them that the Goa'uld would want. There are rarely any native populations for slaves, and no naquadah. It makes them ideal places for us to hide, and there is usually the type of rock formations we need to grow our tunnels without difficulty."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. So, how do we find your place, Martouf? Is it far from here?"

Martouf shook his head, as he answered, "No, Colonel O'Neill, it is not very far. We should head for those dunes over there." He inclined his head in the direction he wished them to go.

Lantash came forward to remind them, "We will be surrounded by the gate guards, when we near the ring transporter. We are still some little way from it, yet, but I wished to reiterate my suggestions, while we are still far enough away, they cannot hear us. Tok'Ra have increased hearing abilities, so remember that they can hear a whisper that most pure humans would miss completely. Remember, too, there is no need for your weapons, and the more relaxed and unconcerned you appear to be, by their show of weapons, the better their first impression will be. You are with me; therefore, you should feel no need for weapons other than defense against hostiles. By not responding with your weaponry, you will be signaling that you do not consider them an enemy. They will not shoot someone with me. Actually, they probably would not automatically shoot anyone, unless they were Goa'uld."

"Those are good points about how we will appear to them, Lantash. It's good advice, and it's too bad it can't always be used. Unfortunately, many of those we meet are enemies," Daniel told him.

Lantash nodded his agreement, adding, "Normally, I would not advise that reaction. However, these circumstances are different."

They slowly walked onward, chatting about nothing in particular. When the guards jumped from their hiding places and surrounded them, no one reacted in an antagonistic way. They simply looked at them.

Lantash stepped forward, and glanced around for the leader of the group. "Cordesh! Fair greetings this day." It was quite plain that Lantash was neither alarmed nor worried, as he acknowledged his fellow Tok'Ra.

"Lantash? You are alive? Why are you dressed in such a way? And who are the people you have brought to our base with you?" In contrast, Cordesh sounded angry. Lantash simply raised an eyebrow and chose no other response. Dislike fairly radiated between the two men, even if Lantash's greeting had at least sounded friendly.

Before Lantash could ask what he meant, by seeming surprised that he was alive, a guard off to the side, spit out, "This one is a Jaffa. Apophis sect."

Teal'c returned his look, and replied calmly, "I am no longer in the service of Apophis."

Distrust and anger still evident in his manner, the Tok'Ra retorted, "Who then are you in service to?"

Teal'c smiled slightly, as he answered quietly, but proudly, "I am in service to no one. I am allied with these, the Tau'ri, in battle against Apophis."

The angry sounding Tok'Ra informed him, "Jaffa do not leave the service of their lords."

Lantash turned to the Tok'Ra that was confronting Teal'c, in an obviously antagonistic way. He spoke with authority, as he told him, "Kalen, you speak of something about which you know nothing. You will refrain from speaking to Teal'c in that tone, again. He is my guest, as are the remainder of my companions."

He turned back to Cordesh, and informed him, "We are here to consult with Garshaw. No doubt, we will see you later."

"They cannot take weapons with them. I insist they give them up to us."

Lantash turned back to him, before saying softly, "They are neither enemies nor prisoners, Cordesh. Have they threatened you, or anyone else, in any way? No, they have not. They will keep their weapons, for now, although, I would imagine that, once they are in the tunnels, they will wish to store them, where they will know they are safe, as well as, out of the hands of someone who knows nothing about them, and therefore, could inadvertently seriously harm themselves or someone else. Their weapons may appear primitive to you, but I can assure you that they are deadly and, to the uninitiated in their use, a danger to them. However, if it makes you so very uncomfortable, I suggest you send Jorlin, Markesh, Zaris, and Jocasta with us as guards. Once we have my companion's weapons safely stored, they can return to their guard duties."

He turned back to them, saying, "Come." Then he walked forward, until they came to what Sam knew was the rings. She could feel them strongly.

Jack smiled at Cordesh, telling him, "Nice to meet cha," as he walked past him and joined Lantash. When they were all within the rings, he nodded, almost indiscernibly, to a Tok'Ra standing off to one side, and he activated the rings for them. Both Jolinar and Sam made note of him. Lantash trusted him.

The rings deposited them, into the soft blue of the crystal tunnels, and Sam could feel Jolinar's happiness, as some of her tension melted away. She was home, and Sam felt her emotions, as if they were her own.

Tok'Ra walked by, but Lantash made no move to talk to any of them. They were getting a lot of different glances. Some were just curious; some were suspicious, until they realized that, although he was dressed oddly, it was Lantash that was with them. Some nodded, once they realized who it was.

Turning into what appeared to be a main tunnel, Lantash saw the person he had been watching for, and he began to walk more quickly in order to catch up with him. When they were close enough that he would not have to raise his voice to get his attention, he said, "Malek."

The Tok'Ra spun around, and seeing him, he smiled. "I am glad to see you, my friend. You know you have been reported missing, do you not?"

Lantash looked surprised. "No, I did not know, although I suppose that Cordesh's comment, when he saw me, should have alerted me to that fact. I was injured, rescued, and cared for by the people with me. I assumed that, since I was not due back for two weeks, no one would miss me."

"Normally, we would not have, but Daimesh visited one of the worlds you were to go to. You should have been and gone by the time he got there, but you never arrived. We followed your trail to the last village you visited, but all they could tell us was that Jaffa arrived, there was a fight, and some strangers, whose names and home world they could not remember, took you with them. We did not know if you were a prisoner, a casualty, or simply badly hurt."

Lantash grimaced, answering, "Badly injured, healed, prisoner, until we could each figure out who we each were, and now guest…I would like for you to meet some of them."

"They held you prisoner?"

Lantash smiled. "Only for a few days. It took a while for them to check my story out, and for me to come to believe they were who they said they were. After all, we all wondered if it was only rumors or myths."

Malek glanced at them again, his glance lingering on the beautiful blond woman. Lantash sent a low-pitched growl that only he could hear, and Malek smiled. She was not available. "Well, Lantash, who would these rumored about, mythical beings, be?"

"These are soldiers from the SGC. Their designation is SG-1. And, they are from Earth, the home of the Tau'ri."

Malek stopped smiling and looked at them sharply. "And you know this how, Lantash? Are you very sure that they are who they say that they are? It is possible that you were held prisoner, until they determined how to earn your trust, and they are now here as…informants of our enemies."

Lantash sent his friend a surprised, questioning look. What was going on? What had occurred to cause this much distrust and suspicion? Frowning, he asked him, "Malek, what is going on? I have never known you to doubt my word. I can assure you that I was not kept only until they could come up with a 'cover' that I would believe. I have had free run of their base for two days. I believe that I would have noticed something that was not 'right' in that amount of time."

"I apologize." Some of the tension appeared to leave him, as he sighed and smiled, tiredly. "I will fill you in later, Lantash," he said, as he glanced at the group standing patiently behind his friend.

Lantash nodded, but he knew that there was no point from trying to hide it from these people. Nor was there a point in starting that argument yet. Not before Jolinar could come fore and reveal her information. "All right. Where is Garshaw? It is very important that we talk to her."

Malek looked startled, as he glanced at the group again, realizing that Lantash had not brought them here without much forethought. He was telling him that these people had important information. "She may be with Selmak and Saroosh. She is…failing fast, and we have no host for her."

Lantash nodded. "I wish to see her, while I am here, but for now, I need to see Garshaw."

"All right, if she is not with Saroosh and Selmak, she will be in the annex close by. I will walk with you."

"Thank you." As they started walking, he mused aloud, "I suppose I should introduce you to my companions. I am sure they would appreciate an introduction, as well." They stopped only long enough to exchange names. Teal'c, as Lantash had predicted, caused a great deal of interest. It was also the presence of Teal'c that furthered Lantash's own claims of who they were.

Rounding a corner, they found Garshaw sitting on a platform near the wall. She looked up, as they entered, and then smiled briefly, and with great relief, as she recognized Martouf and Lantash. "It is good to see you alive and obviously well, Lantash, Martouf. Welcome back."

"Thank you. I have much to report, but it needs to be completely private and, as much as is possible, unknown to any but those of us here," he nodded behind him, "which includes my companions, for the most important, and destructive, of the information comes through them. They are aware of all of it, simply because they bring it to you."

Garshaw stared at him, for a long moment, and then nodded. If Lantash said, it needed secrecy, then that is what they would have. That he wanted strangers with them, she did not understand; however, Lantash would not have requested it, were it not important in some way.

"I would like to know what has occurred or is occurring that has caused the amount of tension and…" Lantash frowned, trying to put a name on what he was sensing. Finally deciding what it was, even though it disturbed him greatly, he added, "fear, which I feel throughout the tunnels." He sighed as he saw them glance at his mates and her companions. "Excuse me for a moment, please."

He walked over to SG-1. Not bothering to lower his voice, so that they could all be aware, of what was being said; he explained to them, "I am afraid that I must discuss some problem that has arisen. It is confidential, so I must leave you for a time."

Knowing what he was wanting, she subtly stepped a little sideways and onto the Colonel's foot, while answering before he could. Following Jolinar's guidance, she smiled slightly and assured him, "That's all right, Lantash. We are very familiar with confidentiality, and the constraints placed on those bound by it." She glanced around, adding, "Can we stay here, or is there somewhere else, where you would like for us to await you?"

He glanced back at Malek and Garshaw. She stepped forward, at once, telling them, "I am sorry that your arrival has lacked in welcome. You are quite free to await us here, although I would ask that you not raise your voices, for Selmak and Saroosh are in the room across from here and they are…not well, at the moment."

Although she didn't allow it to register on her face, Sam felt the shaft of fear and dismay at hearing these names and "_not well_" spoken together. Answering Garshaw calmly, she assured her, "That won't be a problem. If we talk, we will do so quietly. Please don't feel you must rush because we are waiting. We'll be fine."

Garshaw bowed her head in acknowledgement. "I can find someone to bring you something to drink or…"

Sam cut her off, shaking her head and assuring her, "We need nothing. We have water, and if we get hungry, we have some food bars. We'll be fine. Please, take care of your base business. I'm sure it's important."

Garshaw looked at her speculatively, but bowed her head once more, before she returned to the two men and led them down the hall to another room.

Once they were out of sight, the Colonel frowned at her. "What's with the toe dance, Carter?"

Sam lowered her voice, until it was so low a whisper they had trouble hearing her. "It was suggested to me that I prevent you from—how should I phrase this? Oh, yeah, it went something like this; please prevent the Colonel from putting both of his feet in his mouth and follow my lead. After that, I pretty much followed a script that was written for me. These people are known very well, if you will remember, Sir, and how to handle them is best left in other hands than yours, be it mine, Daniel's or Teal'c's. Okay?"

O'Neill looked frustrated, but realizing the wisdom of allowing Jolinar to lead the way through this, he just nodded. Then seeing the skepticism on their faces, he raised one hand, and put the other on his heart, assuring them, "I do solemnly swear, to keep my mouth shut, even under dire provocation. Is that good enough?"

Sam sent him a teasing smile, saying, "I guess it will have to do and if not, then Teal'c will gag you, and Daniel will sit on you…or maybe Teal'c will sit on you, since Daniel doesn't weigh much."

"Hardy, har, har, Major." He gave a sheepish grin. "Really, I will try not to say anything to anyone, unless it's as innocuous as hello. All right?"

"Yes, Sir, that sounds very good."

He nodded, adding, "Now that's settled, what are we supposed to do, while we wait? I'm not good at waiting."

"Why don't you three play poker? I know you carry cards, Colonel; we've used them often enough in the past. I, er, have someone I have to go see."

As she turned to walk away, Jack grabbed her, saying, "Woah! Wait a minute here. Where are you going and why?"

Sam sighed and wished that Jolinar could come fore, but since that wasn't possible, she answered, as well as she could. Nodding to the doorway across from them, she whispered, quietly again, "She is very close to the two that are dying. She wants to say her farewells."

"Oh. Well, sure, Carter. No problem." He swung his pack to the floor and started rummaging, saying, "I think we will play some poker."

"Yes, Sir." Sam rolled her eyes, as she moved off toward the room across from them. She didn't want to do this, but it was only fair that Jolinar could say good-bye.

"_I will be very pained to loose Saroosh, my Sam; however, Selmak needs a new host. They do not have an illness. Saroosh is simply too old and is dying of that. No doubt, they are having trouble finding a host. I need to tell them too hold on a little longer. We need to return and talk to your father. And, if he does not wish to become Tok'Ra, then we must see, if the President will locate us a willing soldier."_

Sam's breath caught. _"I'd forgotten about that, Jol. Thanks."_ Her brow wrinkled as she asked, _"Um, if Selmak is female shouldn't we at least try to find a female host?" _

Jolinar shook her head, telling her, _"Selmak's pain at the loss of Saroosh will be deep, but Selmak prefers to be male. Although we are asexual, we do appear to have gender preferences. I have always preferred female hosts, Lantash and Malek, the Tok'Ra you just met, have always preferred male hosts. Selmak prefers a male host, as well, but as most of us have had to do, we can adapt to a gender change. We would just prefer not to have to do so." _

Sam nodded her understanding, before changing the subject and asking, _"You are going to tell them the truth, if you are alone with them, aren't you?" _

"_Yes, I must if our good-byes are to mean anything." _

"_Okay, but only if they are completely alone, right?" _

"_Of course. I will not jeopardize our goals, Samantha, not even for an old friend." _

Sam nodded, as they entered the room. The elderly woman lying there appeared to be alone. After checking thoroughly, and finding no one there, and no easy way for someone to arrive without her knowledge, Jolinar took control and stepped up to the side of the platform.

TBC


	21. Unwelcome News Ch 21 AAOF

_**Chapter Twenty-one summary: **While SG-1 waits for Martouf and Lantash to find out what is going on with the base, Jolinar and Sam briefly talk to Selmak and Saroosh. When the Tok'Ra return to SG-1, Garshaw leads them to a chamber where they can discuss their reasons for being there with herself and some other Tok'Ra. Sam gives them a short version of Jolinar's 'death'. Jacob Carter's health worsens and he is admitted to the hospital in very poor condition. _

_**Rating this Chapter - **PG-13_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

_**Cor'cyfials shel'lek te dak - **Close friends that love one another and share a sexual relationship, but are not "in" love with each other._

_**Mer Cor – **My Heart_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Twenty-one**_

_**Unwelcome News**_

* * *

George Hammond leaned back in his desk chair and rubbed his face. There was a lot going on right now, not the least of which was one of his oldest friends having a fatal illness. He still felt uneasy about allowing Major Carter to leave on this mission.

As his phone rang, he reached out, picked it up, and answered it, "Hammond." He listened, as they told him who was calling, and demanded, "Put him through."

A moment later, he asked, "Jacob? You okay?"

His eyes closed in pain, as he spoke lowly, "Oh no, I'll be right there." He called in his next in command, and left the base.

* * *

Jolinar reached out and brushed the hair off the woman's brow, and her eyes flew open and glowed, as her hand grabbed the wrist of the woman standing beside her platform. Before she could say anything, Jolinar whispered, "I am sorry, old friend. I did not mean to startle you."

"Old Friend?" The woman lying there asked, her voice low. A slight glow from the woman's eyes was enough to alert them to the fact that there was a masked symbiote standing beside them.

"Yes, Old Friend. They do not know that I am here…or that I still live. Things here are not good, Selmak, and unfortunately, in order to right some of them, I must remain dead—at least for now. However, I do not wish for you to worry about that now. It is more important that you survive. I need to know how you are?"

The eyes searched the face of the beautiful woman looking down at her, and her brow creased, as her mind replayed her words again. There was only one symbiote that this could be. "Jolinar. Because I know you well, I will not ask unnecessary questions. I have not lost my trust in you and know that, if you are pretending to be dead, there must be a very good, albeit bad, reason for it."

"You are very correct. I do not want to tire you, and I do not have time to explain at the moment, but I am hopeful that you will know soon, and that it will be resolved by then. What I am most anxious to know is how you are faring?"

Selmak sighed. "We are very tired, but as long as I am not required to do anything more than lie here, I will not die within the next few minutes. Why do you need to know? Do you need me to do something? I am afraid it is probably beyond our abilities at the moment."

Jolinar shook her head. "You need do nothing more than stay alive for as long as you can. I merely wish to know if your need of a host is crucial yet."

"Not crucial, no, but at the moment we cannot find a host, Jolinar. You know how difficult it can be."

She nodded. "I know. However, if the need is not immediate, I may have a host for you. I cannot guarantee it; however, it is possible. But, I may need some time. Will I have it, old friend?"

Selmak nodded. "As long as we do nothing, as I said, I am not failing yet. We will still be here, possibly for several weeks yet, although, that is not positive, of course."

Jolinar nodded. "I understand. As soon as I solve the problem here, I will turn my efforts to you, I assure you." She smiled at her and squeezed her hand. I must go. It would be best if I was not seen in here. Saroosh, I have missed you, as much as I have missed Selmak. I will return; I hope, in a few days. Please take care of one another."

"We will do our best, I promise; however, may I know the name of your new host?"

Jolinar smiled, as she told her, "Her name is Samantha. Samantha Carter and she is of the Tau'ri from Earth, as they have named it."

Selmak smiled back. "She is quite beautiful." She frowned, and then added, "Jolinar, Lantash…"

Before she could finish her statement, Jolinar stopped her saying, "Is here with Samantha and I. He was injured and taken to Earth, as well. The Tau'ri attended to him, and he and Martouf are very well."

Selmak closed her eyes tiredly, but a slight smile graced her lips. "I am very pleased to hear that. I—I was much saddened by their disappearance and possible death. Thank you for telling us; I am glad that you are once again together." She lie quietly for a moment, and Jolinar squeezed her hand gently.

Her eyes flared, and Saroosh whispered, "Save Selmak, if you are able to do so. I want to know that she remains behind and continues our fight."

Jolinar nodded once. "My Sam and I will do everything we can to accomplish that, Saroosh, I can promise you that."

She smiled fondly, "I have missed you, as well. I am sorry, and I grieve for you over the loss of Rosha. As for the other, I believe that you will succeed. Now, I must rest. This is too difficult for Selmak."

"Thank you, Saroosh. I will return, as soon as I can, this I promise you, too." Jolinar squeezed her hand, before stepping back and giving Sam control. She laid the hand down gently, and made her way out of their room and across the next one, to sit with her teammates, as they played poker.

She sat and watched them for a few minutes, before telling them, "This looks just like the place in my dreams. I'm glad I've been able to see them like this."

"It is said throughout the legends that we have of the Tok'Ra, that when they arrive on a planet, they go deep underground. It is said they possess the technology to actually grow tunnels," Teal'c told her quietly.

Sam nodded. 'Yes, this is some sort of crystal, and your legends were correct, Teal'c. They are grown. I hope to see the technology used to create it some time."

Teal'c grimaced, recalling, "Apophis had me searching for tunnels such as these for many years. We never found them. It is believed that when the Tok'Ra move on, the tunnels are destroyed."

"They are."

The Colonel looked up from his cards and frowned. "How much longer do you think Lantash is gonna be?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know how much he'll tell the two of them. Both are safe to talk to, and I signaled that to him. If he decides to tell them everything before we join them, it could take a while. There's also the fact that they're discussing whatever it is that's going on right now on the base. It could be a while, Sir."

"Great," he grumbled, "I already owe Teal'c two Star Wars movies and three pizzas."

Sam grinned. "Gee, Sir, I'm sorry, but you're the one that taught him to play."

He sent her an exasperated look and turned back to concentrate on his cards. Sam sat back to wait. Jolinar was becoming uncomfortable. Waiting was not something she enjoyed, either, and she was almost as bad as the Colonel. She set herself to ignore her whining. She smiled as some images floated through her mind. She just might take a nap. She'd really not slept a lot the night before. Jolinar laughed softly and joined her in her recollections of their mates.

* * *

General Hammond entered his friend's hospital room and walked to the edge of the bed.

"George."

Quietly, the General asked him, "Jacob, are you all right?"

Jacob Carter gave a very faint smile, before telling him, "I've been better."

General Hammond didn't answer right away, but then he stated, "I was under the impression that the cancer hadn't gone this far."

Jacob explained, "Yeah. So was I. They cleaned out all the lymph nodes. The problem is, apparently, one squadron of those little buggers got themselves reassigned to my liver.

George Hammond nodded, before saying, "Let me make a call. I can get Major Carter recalled." He reached out and picked up the bedside phone.

Reaching out, Jacob stopped him. "No, George, there's no need."

"Jacob, she should be here." The General tried to convince him of the need for his daughter to be there.

Jacob shook his head slightly, before asking, "Why? Let me tell you something George, my little girl grew up seeing Daddy go off to God knows where, to fight God knows who, and I always came home alive and well. Now, I'm going to let her sit here and watch me lose a war? To some little runts so small, I can't even see 'em? No. That's not gonna happen."

As he hung up the phone, General Hammond, murmured, "That's exactly what she thought you'd say." He watched him old friend for a time, before he told him, "How about doing us all a favor, Jake."

Jacob looked over at his friend, asking, "Huh?"

"Cut the brave soldier routine. It's your daughter we're talking about here. She should have a chance to be here to see you through this. She wants to be with you, Jacob."

Jacob turned another slight smile on his friend, before he commented, "I've got a feeling she's on a pretty important mission right now. Am I right?"

General Hammond looked slightly uneasy, when he answered him, "Well, yes, but there are others…"

Jacob cut him short, saying, "Then do me a favor, and honor my wishes. Leave her there. She's where she, and maybe her country, need her to be."

Hammond, muttered, "This is ridiculous."

"There is one thing you could do for me, George."

"I'll do anything within my power, Jacob."

"Tell me what my little girl's doing."

George Hammond looked uncomfortable, as he told him, "Except that. You know it's classified, Jake."

"George, they're telling me I don't have much time left. Who am I going to tell? God?"

"That's not up to me. I'm sorry, Jake."

Jacob nodded, looking resigned.

Hammond knew what the President's decision was, but Major Carter and Jolinar had agreed that they would not tell Jacob, unless there was a symbiote available. That was something he didn't know, so technically, he couldn't tell him anything. He was torn, though. Would it really matter if he told him? He did, sort of, have clearance. He made a decision. He was recalling his daughter…she could tell him herself.

* * *

Sam and Jolinar were startled out of their dreams, when Lantash laid his hand on her shoulder, saying, "Major Carter, Master Garshaw is ready to talk to your people, now."

Sam sent Lantash a look and received an almost imperceptible nod in return. He stepped forward, and they walked as a group down the hall, before entering another room, that was somewhat larger than the other rooms they had seen. A few other Tok'Ra were there, including Cordesh.

"I have explained your problem to Master Garshaw, and she has agreed to allow me to help you see, if you can retrieve the memories you lost, when the Ashrak attacked you and Jolinar."

Sam bowed her head toward the woman, saying, "Thank you. I appreciate it. We need to know what my contact told me right before the attack. If it wasn't important to Earth, I wouldn't have bothered you with it."

"Jolinar!" The exclamation came from Cordesh. "What do you know of Jolinar? How do you know her?"

Sam looked startled. "Well, I…uh…that's kind of a long story."

"If you do not mind, Major Carter, we would like to hear it."

Sam blinked, as if surprised, but immediately agreed, "Oh, well…sure…if you really want me to." She took a breath and started talking, "We were on this planet, Nasya, to meet a contact of mine. But, when we arrived, the Goa'uld were attacking the village. I found my contact, and she gave me the information. We were evacuating the villagers…sending them through the gate to Earth, and I told her to go. She didn't make it; she was hit, along with another man. She died instantly, but he was barely alive. So, anyway, while I was trying to save Jolinar's host, she jumped into me. He didn't make it."

The Tok'Ra that Lantash introduced them to earlier, Malek, asked, quietly, "Excuse me. Did you say that Jolinar's host was killed?"

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"But Jolinar lived on," Malek continued.

"Ah, yeah, for a little while, at least. Inside of me." At the profound silence that greeted her words, Sam looked uncomfortable, so she questioned, "Should I continue?"

SG-1 watched her, sort of surprised, as they hadn't realized her acting ability was that good. She'd almost convinced them that she was really nervous about explaining how Jolinar 'died'.

"Please, Major Carter, continue."

Sam nodded, indicating her agreement to tell them more.

* * *

General Hammond stood in the corridor outside of Jacob Carter's hospital room. His friend had fallen into a light sleep, and he had stepped out there to think.

Inside the room, an alarm went off, and George watched, as Doctors and nurses ran in. He followed them and stood silently, just inside the room, out of the way and unnoticed, during the battle for Jacob's life.

He knew what these alarms meant. He'd heard them often enough at the SGC. Jacob's heart had stopped.

He watched as one of the doctor's reached for the paddles, as he announced to those around him, "He's in V-tach. Let's go. Let's shock him at…uh, 200.

"200."

"Okay, clear," the doctor called out as he zapped him with the paddles.

George watched even more personnel rush into the room. His attention was caught again by the doctor, as he said, "Again, 300." And the nurse answered with, "300."

"Clear."

George watched as the doctor relaxed, saying, "Normal sinus, okay," before he switched his attention to Jacob, saying, "Hey, General, how're you doing?"  
Turning to his staff, he said, "All right, he's in aplastic crisis. Let's give him a unit of packed cells, check his vitals every fifteen minutes. And, er, let me know if anything changes."

As the doctor started to move out of the room, General Hammond stopped him, saying, "Doctor, how is he?"

"He's…uh…stable, for now."

George nodded, before asking, "May I ask, how long does he have?"

The doctor paused, before saying, "Can't say with a cancer like this. Could be five days or five minutes. Sorry. If there's any family for you to contact, I recommend you get them here ASAP."

General Hammond stood for a moment more pondering his next step, before making his decision and leaving the hospital.

* * *

Garshaw frowned. If Sam had not felt sure that this was a carefully orchestrated act, she would have found it a little intimidating, as she asked her, "So am I to understand that you did not invite Jolinar to use you as a host?"

Sam looked surprised, saying, "Well, yeah, that's correct. It was an emergency situation."

Cordesh looked smug, for a moment, but the look passed quickly, and then he asked, "Then, if you were not a voluntary host, how do we know that you did not kill Jolinar yourself?"

Sam looked at him, and was obviously appalled, before she told him, "Um, well, because I…I didn't. I mean, I guess you're just going to have to trust us on that."

"And why should we trust you?" Cordesh demanded.

Sam was beginning to dislike this Tok'Ra more and more, and she could feel Jolinar fuming within her. "_Cool it, Jol. I don't like the jerk either, but we can't afford for you to give yourself away." _

"_Yes, I am aware, my Sam. Do not be concerned. I will not do so." _

Suddenly, Colonel O'Neill stood, from where he was seated, saying, "You know something?" He stalked over to stand before Garshaw and Cordesh. "I've been asking myself the same damn question. Why should we trust you? You are, after all, Goa'ulds."

Feeling the situation, which he felt was at least somewhat manufactured, deteriorate, Daniel attempted to stop the insults that he saw coming, saying, "Jack…!"

The Colonel pointed a finger toward Daniel, saying, "Ah! Don't! We've done nothing but get interrogated, since we stepped into this room. Now, we came here with a Tok'Ra, that we consider a friend. You all, however, do not appear any too friendly, so I want to know, if our status has changed from guest to prisoner, and I want to know if you are Tok'Ra or Goa'uld, because you certainly don't act anything like Lantash and Martouf. So, are we prisoners, and are you Goa'uld?

Daniel tried again, to calm his friend down, but he once more got a finger pointed at him and this time a, "Neh!"

Casting an unreadable glance at Cordesh, Garshaw stepped forward, assuring them, "You are not prisoners, and we are not Goa'uld. It is always…distressing …when we have a comrade and their host's death verified. I apologize for Cordesh."

She paused, before continuing, "I also believe that there is some distress over the fact that Jolinar seems to have taken an unwilling host. We do not condone this, and it should not have happened. There is no excuse for doing so."

Sam held up her hand, before the Colonel could say anything else, and Daniel unobtrusively pinched Jack. He didn't dare say anything, for fear he would be overheard, but he did send him a 'you are being stupid' look. He watched as the Colonel frowned, before light dawned. Daniel breathed a little easier.

In the meantime, Sam was explaining something. "I don't want you to be under a misapprehension. Yes, Jolinar did jump into me without asking, but even if there had been a reason to ask me, there was no time for her to do so."

Garshaw frowned, and Cordesh's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean by your statement, Major Carter? Why do you say 'if there had been a reason to ask you'? I do not understand," Garshaw, sounded quite confused.

Sam nodded, before explaining, "I told you that I was trying to save her host. Well, one of our medical practices is to help a person who has stopped breathing, but is still alive, to breathe. So, I had my mouth over her host's mouth getting ready to breathe for him. She thought I was offering, and in the chaos and panic around us, I wouldn't have understood, even if she did ask. We'd never heard of the Tok'Ra. And, when she entered me, I assumed that she was a Goa'uld and I panicked. When Jolinar realized what had happened, she was appalled, and tried to talk to me, but I was too panicked to listen to her. Unfortunately, we were together such a short time, that I was only barely beginning to be civil to him, er, her, whatever, when the Ashrak attacked us. And, while I don't mind explaining what happened to Jolinar, I came here to try to retrieve my memories. I also would like to see, if we could at least be aware of one another, and try to not kill each other when we meet, which, since we ended up with Martouf and Lantash, as well as Jolinar, is not, evidently, going to be all that rare an occurrence."

Garshaw nodded, saying, "Thank you, Major Carter for explaining what happened with Jolinar. It does help to know that she did not simply take you with no encouragement on your part. It relieves my mind to know this."

Before Sam could reply to her, Cordesh asked, almost harshly, "How can we know that you are not attempting to access Jolinar's memories in order to use them against us?"

Sam looked at him with her mouth opened slightly, before telling him, "Well, I can't remember something I don't have, for one thing. I don't _have_ any of Jolinar's memories. Lantash believes that it's because we didn't actually blend. Jolinar was planning on leaving me, as soon as she could, so between that, and the fact that the Ashrak attacked us within hours, there's nothing for me to remember."

He nodded. "I see. In one way that is too bad. Since Jolinar was on a mission there might have been information we could have used."

Sam shook her head. "Well, I'm sorry. If I had her memories, you would be welcome to look for them, but I don't, so…I can't help you." Since the conversational ball was back in her court, she decided she wanted to clarify something that Cordesh said to her. "I do have a question though, or maybe it's a comment or perhaps both together. You asked me how you could know that I didn't kill Jolinar." Her eyes narrowed. "One…if you mean before she moved to me, since I wasn't aware of her at all, and we were being attacked, I fail to see how I could have killed her. Two…if you mean _after_ I became her host, that's where I think you owe us some information. If there is a way for a host to kill a symbiote, or a way to kill a symbiote, but the host be saved, we don't know about it, and we should."

"Now, since Jolinar took me as her host, and she is dead, and I am not, I want to know how _we_, or_ I could_ have killed her, and me be here talking to you? Either I could have killed her somehow, or you are saying that we know how to use the thing the Ashrak used, something we couldn't use, since it is a Goa'uld device and requires certain elements to work it. So, is there something we should know that we don't? Because, otherwise, your question was pretty stupid." She looked back and forth between Garshaw and Cordesh. Garshaw was actually biting her lip, but whether in anger or not, Sam couldn't tell, and Cordesh looked stunned and furious. She would have bet that, if he wasn't a symbiote, he would have been extremely red in the face and practically spitting. Jolinar laughing in her head didn't help her to keep a straight face. _"Shut up, Jol, or I'm going to lose it myself. Please control yourself. Stop it!" _

"_All right. I have stopped. I have always gotten along with Cordesh, but I must admit his attitude has changed, in the past three years. He has always been pompous and arrogant, but he seems worse than I remember him. And you are correct—his question was stupid. He was attempting to 'show off' by intimidating you. I do believe his attempt was a spectacular failure, since there are several other Tok'Ra here to witness his defeat at your hands. I did tell you that your presence could bring out some of their pride and arrogance. It did with him." _

"_Ah, I wondered why he was so hostile to me." _

Jolinar 'shrugged'. _"He is trying to impress his superiority upon you. We are not like the Goa'uld, yet there is no denying that we are intellectually superior to many species 'in general', although you, Daniel, and, I am sure, many others are well over the 'norm' for your species. We are also physically stronger than most…except perhaps the Unas. Anyway, as I said, he was just trying to intimidate you, and 'put you in your place', wherever he considered that to be, and instead you put him in his, as well as making him look stupid. We must be careful, for he will not forget or forgive you besting him." _

"_Garshaw is about to answer, and we should be more aware. At times, when a host is conversing with her Lifemate, they will get a glassy or vacant look in their eyes. You have not yet, but we should stop speaking before you do so." _

"_Good idea, and besides, I agree, she is going to say something." _

Finally, Garshaw managed to overcome whatever she was feeling, and answered her, "No, Major Carter, there is no way to kill a symbiote and allow the host to survive, except for the one of which you are already aware. You survived the Ashrak attack because Jolinar protected you, to the best of her ability, and I would suspect that your healers did what they could for you, as well. As you are aware, to use that method of killing the symbiote would be extremely risky. You are very lucky to have survived it. Cordesh simply spoke from," she shook her head, "no…I am not sure why he said what he did, for as you have pointed out—his statement was rather ah, questionable, in its validity." Cordesh looked at Garshaw in surprise, and she returned his gaze steadily, obviously unperturbed.

She turned back to Sam and smiled, very slightly, "As for not being able to give us any information that she might have had for us, please, do not concern yourself, Major. It is not your fault. You cannot be expected to produce that which, as you say, you do not have."

Sam bowed her head in acknowledgement of her comments, before saying, "I know it's very hard to lose a friend, which I'm sure Jolinar, and Rosha, too, were to you. I'm sorry I had to be the one to tell you that they didn't survive." Glancing at Cordesh once more, she added, "I know very little about how Rosha died; all Jolinar told me was that her long-time host's name was Rosha, and she died from severe injuries caused by the Jaffa. She probably would not have told me that, but she was mourning her deeply still, so deeply that, even though we did not blend our minds, I could still feel her sorrow at her loss. Other than that, I have no details to give to you."

She paused again, before telling them, "As she was dying, I did feel her deep sorrow for leaving her mates behind. She loved them deeply, as well. But, I've already told them that," she glanced over at Martouf and Lantash.

Garshaw accepted Sam statement, and then commented, "When we lose a fellow Tok'Ra, it is always a very sad day for us. We no longer have a queen, so as our people die, we become fewer. Often, we die for lack of a new host, since we will not take one that is unwilling."

"So, how does that work? What happens? Do you mean, when you can't heal an injury or something?" Jack was finally curious and back to being more cordial.

"Sometimes, yes, but, please, come with me, and I will explain if I can." Garshaw gestured for them to follow, but Sam stopped her, asking, "If you wouldn't mind, Master Garshaw, I'd like to get started trying to find my information. It very well could be vital to us. I feel strongly that I need to remember it soon."

Garshaw bowed her head, replying, "Of course, Major Carter. You are correct, and I should have thought of that myself." She looked over at Lantash and Martouf, asking, "Lantash, are you free to work with the Major, now?"

He bowed in return, saying, "Yes, I am ready anytime."

"Very well. We will see to it that your teammates are comfortable, until you return, Major."

Sam nodded, and gave her a small smile, as she told her, "Thank you. I do appreciate it."

Garshaw bowed her head graciously in acknowledgement before turning to lead the others away.

Malek moved forward, saying, "I will come with you, Lantash, if that is acceptable. I have some things to discuss with you, if you would not mind?"

Alarmed, Sam looked to Lantash, a question in her eyes. _"It is all right, my Sam. Malek is another I would trust with our lives…which you have pointed out before; I am doing every time someone becomes aware of me. I would tell you to object, if I felt any danger associated with the suggestion." _

"_Thanks, Jol. I know you said earlier that you trusted him, but I didn't know how far that extended. It sounds like it extends for quite a distance." _

"_Yes, it does." _Jolinar appeared to hesitate, but finally decided that she might as well tell her host, as she could eventually hear it mentioned, or find it in her memories. _At one time, Malek and I were lovers. Not lovers in the sense that Martouf and Lantash are, but in the way of being Cor'cyfials shel'lek te dak. Close friends that love one another and share a sexual relationship but are not "in" love with each other. The sexual side of it ended many, many years ago, even before his present host and the one before that; however, the close friendship remained. In fact, it deepened, when Martouf, Lantash, and I fell in love. At one time, Malek had a female host, and he and Lantash were mated. They have a deep and abiding bond, thus we are all very close emotionally, even Martouf for he feels the same love that Lantash feels for him." _

Sam frowned, as she sifted through Jolinar's emotional ties to Malek, when she was in the affaire with him. What she said was true…she loved him, and now Malek's present host, Devlin, but not in a sexual way any longer. She could live with that. _"I'm glad you told me, Jolinar. I have no problem with it. What little I saw of him, I liked him. I'm sure I'll follow your emotions about him, as well. Do you think he knows that you are alive?" _

"_I do not know for sure. I do not believe so, though. I do not believe that Lantash felt it safe enough where they were to tell them what was truly happening. If he did not, then he would have used a code word to let them know that all was not as it appeared, and would be revealed to them, at the earliest possible time. He would have been sure to convey his trust of you and your teammates so, that they would not be confused, as to whether you were a problem, or if his attitude and words about you were basically true. Obviously, much of the 'not as it appears' would pertain to the four of you; however, he would indicate that you yourselves were not a threat. That may be why Malek is accompanying us. He may want to know what has happened." _

"_If you use a code word, wouldn't that tip off the one you're hiding the information from, too?" _

"_No. All of us have words that belong to only one other person. Had I told Garshaw and Malek the same thing, it would have been with different words. That way, each set of words is unique to each set of people, instead of each person using the same code word for everyone. It was set up that way, for exactly that reason. Using that code informs the other that the situation they are facing is very serious, and possibly dangerous. If it is possible, they will try to meet somewhere safe from being overheard later. It works well, since it is very rarely used, and is so unique to each of us. There are also ways we can convey, as Lantash would have about you, where the threat comes from. Lantash would have been vague about that area, allowing them to know that even he does not know where it is coming from, but he would have indicated that the four of you were Not it." _

Sam nodded thoughtfully. _"Yeah, I can see where it would work. I may suggest to the General that we do something like that." _

As her teammates left with Garshaw, Sam had left with Martouf, Lantash, and Malek. Leaving her conversation with Jolinar, she looked around and frowned, before turning to the two men, and asking, "Where are we going? It needs to be completely safe, Lantash."

He turned toward her and assured her, "That is what Malek and I were wondering. Would you mind going to his chamber? Since he is not usually on this base, he is in guest quarters. They are isolated, at the moment, since there are no other visitors. We grow chambers, as we need them, so he is in a new tunnel, and his is the only chamber grown in it, so far. The old guest chambers were turned into labs. He also has his own guards here, and he can have them remain at the end of the tunnel he is in, which will ensure that no one approaches, without our knowledge, and even they will be too far away to overhear anything that is said."

Sam nodded her agreement, and returned to Jolinar, but before she could even ask the question, Jolinar told her, _"Malek is very close to Per'sus, the High Councilor. He is probably still a base commander, as well, and they usually have guards with them, to do just such things as this—there are many things that are discussed that need complete secrecy. His guards are there to provide it, as well as to protect him from an attack. Often Jaffa will target a commander thinking that to lose them will weaken us." _ She shrugged. _ "It does not, but they cannot seem to understand that—nor can the System Lords."_

"_I see. That makes sense." _Feeling Jolinar considering something, she remained quiet waiting for her to gather her thoughts or make a decision, whichever it was she was doing.

Sensing that her decision-making was accomplished, Sam tuned back into her. She wasn't disappointed in her growing perception of their blending and Jolinar's needs and reactions. _"I believe that there is information that you should have. Instead of waiting for the questions to arise, I've decided to give it to you now, so that when the time comes, you will not be required to ask." _

"_I think that you need to know exactly who knows about the Asgard. I am fairly certain that the traitor does not know of it. If he does, then he learned of it from spying and since that information is more closely guarded than most confidential information, it is unlikely that he could have learned it. We are never careless about being overheard, even if we have to go above ground, and find a place where we can be seen; however, we also can see for a great distance." _

"_So, as you know, Lantash and Martouf are privy to that information. So are Per'sus and Aiydon, his host. Garshaw and Yosuf know of it. Malek and Devlin are aware of it. Ma'ashat and her host Katera, as well as, Selmak and Saroosh, Apashe and Kalana, and Anise and her host Freya." _

"_Many do not trust Anise and Freya, as they give the impression of leaning toward those who disagree with the way the Tok'Ra are being led. The opposition's leaders are on the council, mainly so that they cannot say that they are not allowed into positions of challenge to the others. Anise and Freya do an excellent job of their seeming leanings. In reality, she is very loyal to Per'sus, Garshaw, and Selmak. They are our main leaders. We shall be joining them, as we are all of the oldest that yet remain alive. They are the only Tok'Ra that know about the Asgard, so they are also the only ones that know the Asgard are working on changing one of us into a queen."_

After a time, she gave Sam some more important information, _"Should something ever happen, and I am unconscious, or for some reason, we cannot communicate, and you need someone that you can trust, there are others that you can depend upon, even though they are not within this main group that know of the Asgard. You can turn to Alanna, Daimesh, Arwanna, Jocasta, and Aldwin. Jorlin, Brialek, Calise, Gava, Markesh, and Zarest are also very loyal Tok'Ra. Most Tok'Ra are loyal, in truth; however, those I have mentioned have been tested more than once, and they have never betrayed us, in any way. I am sure there are many, many others; however, these are the ones that I know personally quite well." _

"_All right. I understand what you are saying. Are the four of you all that is left of the eldest?" _

"_No, although many are gone. Malek, Anise, and Lantash are all from early clutches. Selmak is from the first clutch, and is considered the oldest and wisest among us." _

Sam frowned. _"I don't think I understand. You just said that Per'sus, Garshaw, _

_Selmak, and You are most of the oldest…now you are saying that Selmak is the oldest, since she is from Egeria's first clutch." _

"_Garshaw and I are both Goa'uld; we are Tok'Ra by choice, not birth. Selmak and Per'sus are from Egeria's first two clutches, which were not coded to wish to fight the System Lords. They chose that path themselves, and thus they are the oldest of the Tok'Ra-born. Selmak would have been High Councilor, but she refused it, preferring to work as an operative through the years, as I have. She has been on the council for centuries though, as she preferred more short term assignments than I did." _

"_Ah, I see. So, who are the others like you and Garshaw?" _

___"Ma'ashat, Apashe, Kintash, Kairyn, Cartesh, and Cordesh. _We are all the Goa'uld that are left. All of the others were born Tok'Ra. And of all of them, I am the eldest, as well as, the most experienced in battle." 

"_Thank you. I know I would have found it eventually, but I'm glad you told me, instead of me just absorbing it or whatever." _

"_You are welcome, my Sam. I am remembering more quickly now that I am here. I hope the information about the traitor is found quickly." _She paused, then announced, _"I believe that we have arrived at Malek's chamber." _

They neared the center of a tunnel that seemed deserted, when Malek turned into a room. It had no others near it.

"Please sit, Major Carter. May I get you anything? Some water, perhaps?"

"Thank you, Malek, I think that I would like that, yes. Water is fine."

Lantash sat beside her and placed his arm around her. Malek lifted his eyebrows at him, finding it odd that Lantash could have found someone in such a short time. He had not been missing very long, and he knew, for a fact, that he was not interested in finding a new mate. Something did not seem right to him, but no doubt, Lantash would tell him in good time.

"Samantha is our mate, Malek," Lantash told him quietly.

He looked at him quizzically for a moment, and then his eyes appeared to widen slightly, before his visage became stoic once more.

Lantash chuckled. "Very probably," he verified for him.

"When?"

"About two weeks ago.

Lantash paused, and his voice dropped to little more than a breath, of a whisper, "It is her memories we are attempting to find." Lantash had never seen his friend so surprised…and showing it. He watched him, as he looked at Samantha and then turned back to him.

"So you were being truthful, and the Major is your mate. I must admit to wondering, when you growled earlier, although I did not believe it to be much more than an interest. No wonder you did not return right away. I see, too, that there were some well-rehearsed…fabrications…on Major Carter's part." And what was that story of being a prisoner?"

"We can go into that later. We really do need the memory recall device that you retrieved from the medical bay for us."

Malek handed it to him, and Lantash began to explain how it worked. Sam nodded, when he finished. "Don't put it on so that we experience the pain. We don't need to do that. We just want the name."

Lantash nodded and attached the disc to her temple, before turning it on. Sam looked at him, and asked, "Should I concentrate on anything in particular?"

"Sometimes that helps, but other times it does not. It would not hurt to try to focus your thoughts to the time of Jolinar's escape."

"All right. We're going to attempt to relax and let our minds drift, but still keep the time frame we need in mind, rather than trying to force an image."

"That might work, _Mer Cor_. All we can do is try. Tell Jolinar to relax."

"She said to tell you that she is perfectly capable of hearing you without an intermediary, and that she is quite aware of what she needs to do. Thank you." Sam laughed softly, as she listened to Jolinar. "I think you have upset her, Lantash. She is being quite vocal about," Sam frowned, and then laughed again. Clearing her throat, she tried again, saying, "As I was saying, she is being quite vocal about your ancestry, and ah, we are back to kettles and pots again. Now, go talk to Malek, so that she will settle down and attempt to do this."

She leaned back and she and Jolinar relaxed, as well as they could. She heard Lantash and Malek sit down at the small table. Lantash was telling his friend, "There is a great deal that you need to know, Malek. My being a prisoner of the Tau'ri is not a fabricated story. Martouf and I were taken to the Tau'ri base, the SGC, after we were severely injured in a firefight with some Jaffa. I was not sure that we would live; however, the Tau'ri healer, kept Martouf from going into shock, and she also replaced much of the blood he lost. By doing so, it freed me to concentrate on our wounds. I would have to say that, without her help, we probably would have died."

"After I healed us, we were moved to a cell. We _were_ prisoners. Although, I have to tell you that as places of incarceration go, it was the best we have ever seen. We had warm food three times a day. A snack when we wanted it, clean fresh water, a shower, facilities, and a daily change of clothing. There was also a small box called a TV that the guard on duty occasionally looked at." He frowned. "We still have yet to find out what has happened to Marcella and John, however, I am quite sure that, if we can find the guard, he will tell us for he always watched to see what would happen next." He paused once more, before continuing, "It was rather odd, actually. The greatest threat we faced was boredom. It was very tedious, except for the box and he only turned it on at certain times of day, however, we were assured that when Captain Carter returned, we would be interrogated. It seemed she was on a mission. He grinned. "Remind me, and I will tell you how Jolinar and Samantha along with one Jaffa and at least fifteen costumed SGC soldiers stole two motherships from Cronus. It is very entertaining. Anyway, eventually, she returned, promoted from Captain to Major, but she was the person they wished for me to talk to nonetheless."

"When she came into the room our cell was in, she said little, but she did look at us oddly for a short time. I believe that she asked us who we were. I told her that it did not matter, as I would tell her nothing. She found my answer quite amusing, and informed me that it was nice to know that I was loyal. No more than a few minutes later, she informed her General Hammond that he could release us, as we were Tok'Ra. You can imagine our surprise and consternation. We could not feel a symbiote, yet she assured her commanding officer that we were not Goa'uld, but Tok'Ra. They asked, if she was sure several times, and then finally, the General asked her, if Jolinar was absolutely sure, and she went on to explain that she was sure that we were from her home base, and that she remembered us, but could not remember our names. It was a shock, believe me."

"I am sure that it was. I assume she was using a masking serum…as she must be now."

Lantash nodded, "Yes, to all of your comments. But to return to the tale; We realized that she had amnesia, so we knew…"

As Lantash paused, Malek asked him, "If you were a prisoner, how were you treated after Jolinar and Samantha managed your release?"

Lantash smiled, telling him, "We were released at once from our cell, taken to lunch, and made ambassadors of the Tok'Ra by their country's leader, so as to keep one of their interrogation units from being allowed to—_talk_—to us. We were given, ah, diplomatic immunity. We were also given a well-appointed room, complete with a cooking area, sleeping area, and facilities. We were given clothing, food, and a guide who, along with Samantha showed us what areas were available to us for our use. Let us think a moment. There was a "work-out room" which was full of equipment they used to strengthen the body, a pool with very hot water that they called a hot tub. We were allowed in the firing range area, if we wished to practice shooting their weapons. Oh, and there was their eating area and a recreation room at which we were welcomed. Sensitive places and areas we were not allowed to enter were pointed out to us, and we were politely asked to please refrain from attempting to access them. As I believe I told you, I believe I would have noticed anything that was "out of the ordinary" in the last few days." As he finished telling Malek the events that brought them here, he leaned back in his chair. "So, there you have it. Jolinar still has some missing memories. Unfortunately, they are some rather crucial ones."

Malek nodded and then sighed. "Does she know what they are about?"

Lantash looked grim, as he answered, "Yes. A Tok'Ra has turned traitor, Malek. He informed on her to Cronus, and they almost did not make it away, before they caught them. She was on the run for months during which Rosha was killed. Her last host was the man about which Samantha told us. The problem is that, although she knows there is a traitor, she cannot remember his name. All she is sure about is that he is on a Council…but she is not sure which one. She believes it is this one, but cannot be sure. That is what she is attempting to remember. We must find out, Malek. I am sure that he is behind the attacks on the other bases. I believe that this base will be hit soon, but there is no point in moving yet, as he would just send the new information on. As Jolinar said, we must find out who it is and catch him. And she must remain dead, until he is caught."

Malek nodded. "Yes, if he knew she was alive, she would be in constant danger from both him and Cronus. No wonder you would not explain earlier. This information is much too dangerous to be talked about without having absolute privacy." He and Lantash sat in silence, Malek brooding, and Lantash, along with Martouf, worrying over Samantha and Jolinar.

TBC


	22. Becoming Better Acquainted Ch 22 AAOF

_**Chapter Twenty-two Summary: **Daniel, Jack, and Teal'c go to see Selmak, while Sam and Martouf/Lantash go with Malek to his chambers, which are isolated away from anyone else. It is the beginning of learning about one another, but the going is slow, and at one or two points almost dies completely. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Twenty-two**_

_**Becoming Better Acquainted**_

* * *

"Colonel O'Neill, would you mind talking to my host, for a time? I have some matters to which I need to give some thought. Her name is Yosuf."

Jack O'Neill blinked at her, before nodding, and then saying, "Well, sure, I don't mind. I'd very much like to meet your host."

Garshaw smiled, as she turned control over to her host. She had been correct, and the Colonel needed to see that the hosts truly did have control of the body at times. He needed to see other Tok'Ra that were switching between host and symbiote.

They entered a room to see an elderly woman lying on a platform. Yosuf, waved to her and said, "Allow me to introduce Selmak."

The other Tok'Ra that had accompanied them, told them quietly, "Her host's name is Saroosh. She is one of the oldest and wisest among us, an important leader for our cause. However, she is, unfortunately very ill, and will soon die."

Daniel asked, quietly, "How old is she?"

"She will be 203 of your years in a few of your days," Yosuf explained just as quietly.

It was obvious that Daniel was confused. "I'm sorry. I was under the impression that Goa'uld lived much longer than 200 years."

Yosuf paused, as she realized that there was confusion. "Goa'uld do, the Tok'ra do not, Dr. Jackson. I must also assume that you are speaking of the host, as we are. A Tok'Ra symbiote can live thousands of years, assuming they have a host. It is the host who eventually ages."

Jack looked at her oddly. "Why is that?"

The other Tok'Ra, who Daniel thought he had heard called Daimesh, answered his inquiry, "It is because we do not use the sarcophagus. We believe to do so would drain the good from our hearts."

Remembering his personal struggle with withdrawal from one, Daniel shivered, as he murmured, "I can vouch for that, believe me."

While the Tok'Ra looked at him somewhat oddly, none were rude enough to demand that he explain. Daimesh simply acknowledged his statement, and then went on to explain how not using a sarcophagus hurt the Tok'Ra, "That is why our numbers do not grow large enough to defeat the massive forces aligned with the System Lords."

Teal'c nodded, saying, "You have Zero or negative population growth. Since you will not take new hosts by force, many times the Tok'Ra dies with the host."

Yosuf, agreed, adding, "This is what is about to happen to Selmak."

Daimesh looked over at them, "Unless one of you wishes to volunteer to serve as a host."

The Colonel shook his head, commenting, "I'm going to pass on that."

Daniel nodded, saying, "Yes, although it does s…sound very fascinating, I think it's a little too long term for me."

Yosuf, nodded, replying, "We did not mean to upset you with the suggestion of becoming a host."

Jack O'Neill felt even more uncomfortable than usual. He was well aware that there was probably a host waiting for their comrade. Unfortunately, it wasn't up to him to decide when to pass that information on to them. Clearing his throat, he answered her, saying, "Well, as long as you take no for an answer."

Daimesh answered, "Be assured that we have never forced a human to become a host. It goes against all that we believe in."

Yosuf looked confused, as she questioned, "I am curious, if you are not interested in becoming a host, then why, other than Major Carter's memory loss, did you accompany Lantash and Martouf?"

Daniel decided that this was his cue and answered promptly, "To form an alliance. I believe Major Carter mentioned it, in a way, earlier. We are going to keep running into each other. It would be better for both of us to work a little closer together."

Yosuf looked both disdainful and angry, "Yes, so you have said, but it is apparent that the thought of an alliance disgusts you."

Daniel's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Wait a minute; you think by 'form an alliance' we mean we want to be hosts?"

"Well what other sort of an alliance could a non-blended human and a Tok'ra want to have?"

O'Neill shook his head, not sure he believed they couldn't see any advantage to working with another group to defeat the Goa'uld. Still he decided to try, saying, "Well, we do have a common enemy, how about a friendship?"

Teal'c frowned at her, as he added his opinion, "We could share information, and engage in battles, side by side. As Major Carter mentioned, it could be beneficial, if only to keep us from killing one another."

Garshaw came forward and shook her head, asserting, "I do not believe you could be of any service to us. You are neither strong enough, nor advanced enough."

Jack looked at her quizzically, asking, "We're not?"

Teal'c disagreed with her, as well, informing her, "You are incorrect. It was these who destroyed two Goa'uld motherships."

Garshaw was angry. "That was you? We had operatives who died on board those vessels."

Wishing that Sam was here, Daniel whispered, "Oh boy," and then louder, he pointed out, "We were only defending our planet. Our choices were to let him raze Earth, or attempt to blow up his ships. However, this is a good example of where just a little bit of cooperation _might_ have saved their lives. Had we known, we could have had our inside contact warn them in time for them to use the gate on the ship and gate off, _before_ we blew them up. That's how I managed to get off the ship in time. Our ignorance of your people has been remedied, but if we take it no further, then neither of us have gained anything, and the chances of our killing each other inadvertently increases significantly."

Yosuf came fore, explaining, "We were not aware that Apophis had travelled to the Tau'ri. This information; it explains a lot. At least, now, we know how and why our operatives died, and for that we are truly grateful."

Jack agreed, adding, "So maybe we can be of service to one another."

Yosuf inclined her head, assuring him, "Perhaps you are correct. I will try to convince the Council of Tok'ra to meet with you about this matter." She added, "In the meantime, I am afraid that I have a few things that I must see to." She nodded toward two Tok'Ra, who just entered the room, and told them, "If you need anything, Aldwin and Markesh will see to it that you receive it, if it is something which we have or can do. Should you become hungry, they can take you to get something to eat and drink."

Daniel sighed, after she left, before turning to the other two, and asking, "You want to see if they have pie, cake, or coffee?"

Jack agreed. It would be something to do. He motioned to one of the men that were assigned to them. "Do you think you can show us where the mess hall is? We'd like something to snack on, if that's okay."

The two Tok'Ra stared at him, for a moment, before looking inquiringly at one another.

Daniel, recognizing the breakdown in communication, added, "We mean, if you have a place where you gather to eat, we would like to go there, as Yosuf suggested, and perhaps, have something to drink and some small thing to eat. Not a meal, just a, well, a snack. Sorry, I can't think of a better word for it."

One of the attendants bowed and smiled slightly, as he assured him, "Of course. I understand what you are saying now. Come, we will show you to the, er, 'mess hall'. I am Aldwin and my symbiote is Ferlesh. This is Markesh and his host's name is Dillon. Please, come with us."

The three teammates acknowledged him with suitable murmurs, and then followed Aldwin and Markesh down the hallway. All of them wondered how much longer it would be, until Sam and Jolinar came up with a name for them. They hoped it was soon.

As they continued down the hall, Jack realized that the healer, Daimesh, had also joined them. The Tok'Ra smiled at him slightly, bowing his head in a somewhat delayed greeting, saying, "My host's name is Nathan. He, or most other hosts, would be happy to answer any questions."

O'Neill looked back and forth between him and Aldwin, and bluntly asked, "Okay, I do have a question. Why is the host in charge in Aldwin's case, and yet, the symbiote is in charge in yours? And what did you mean, 'most' hosts?"

Daimesh nodded, almost as if he expected the question. "Aldwin's symbiote, Ferlesh, often prefers to remain in the background during the day, unless he is specifically needed. If he feels more qualified to handle a situation, then he comes fore."

"Aldwin does a great deal of organization for us, preparing what we need for missions, as well as checking to be sure that we have everything, before we leave. He handles the calculations, details, and ordering of everything that we need from clothing to food. I believe that you would call his duties logistics. He also keeps track of our equipment—what we have, what we need, what we lost during an attack, and what we must see to having replaced. He, along with several others, including the High Councilor, Per'sus, are responsible for keeping our finances in order. He must be sure that our operatives have the funds that they need, so that they do not have to use their personal funds for missions, clothing, food, etc." He paused, for a moment, realizing how very much it sounded like Aldwin was responsible for, and therefore added. "Of course, he is in charge of the departments that do those things. I did not mean that he was personally responsible for seeing that those many things were accomplished. I realized it sounded as if he was overworked after I said it."

He smiled at them slightly, before continuing, "His symbiote, on the other hand, is very much into scientific studies. Depending on what he is working with, he will sometimes sleep during the day, as he finds logistics rather boring; however, he can be easily awoken from his naps should he be needed. On the nights that he goes to the labs to work, he waits until Aldwin goes to sleep, then he takes control of their body and proceeds to the labs, where he will work much of the night."

Not knowing what Lantash and Martouf might have told them of the symbiote, he explained, "We, that is, the symbiotes, need much less sleep than the host does. If we are well rested or have been dormant, we can remain awake for many hours at a time, even for several days, if it is absolutely necessary. Of course, if we remain awake for that extended a period of time, then we must become dormant or sleep, for many hours, in order to regain our lost energy." He paused and sent them a quick smile, adding, "Fortunately, it is rare that we have to extend ourselves in that way. Although," he murmured, "it is more common for our operatives to need to do so, of course. Ferlesh rarely needs to remain awake, for so long, unless they are on a mission, which they do take upon occasion, if their abilities are needed, or if they wish a change and volunteer."

He returned to his original explanation of how Aldwin and Ferlesh shared their body. "I will return to what I was saying of Ferlesh and Aldwin, for I do not want you to think that all they do is work. Aldwin's duties vary in intensity and time needed to accomplish them, and Ferlesh's experiments do not all need his constant observation, thus they do have much time with one another. They spend their evenings together, as well, doing things they both enjoy, and visiting with others; the two of them are very close friends, as all blended Tok'Ra become. It works well for them, and they are each happy following their own interests, as well as, sharing activities in which they both have an interest."

Daimesh barely paused for breath, or so it seemed, as he continued to the next possibility that occurs for blended pairs. "For Tok'Ra whose specialties are more closely related, it is somewhat different. I am a healer. I am also a scientist, an occasional operative, and a Priest for our people. Nathan is also a scientist. We are both healers." He gave what the three men were beginning to realize was the Tok'Ra equivalent of a shrug, before proceeding with his explanation, "If we are in the labs, then Nathan tends to have control as he is the better scientist. If healing is required, we share the caretaking. Sometimes he does it; sometimes I do it. He prefers to work with broken bones, and those types of injuries, whereas I prefer to work on healing the organs and infusing strength. He is not a Priest," he frowned in thought, and then continued, "I am not a Priest as you may think of them, but—more of an officiator at ceremonies—burials, bondings, those types of things."

"Often times, the symbiote has control while attending to 'Tok'Ra' business, which means that the symbiote has control during the day; the host tends to take control in the evenings, while they are relaxing. I suppose that the true answer to your inquiry is that it varies widely from pair to pair, and that they work together to find what will work best, for the two of them, so that both are happy in the arrangement."

Daniel listened, amazed at the completeness and openness of the Tok'Ra's answer. One thing did still need answering. "Daimesh, you said that 'most' hosts would be happy to talk to us. What did you mean by that?"

Daimesh nodded, looking very much disheartened, and sad, when he answered, "Many times, Dr. Jackson, our hosts come from worlds where the Goa'uld have destroyed the people's entire way of life. They have been attacked and everything—their homes, their families, their very way of life, everything, has been destroyed. Some of our hosts come to us in great mental distress from having survived torture and abuse of many kinds. Those of us who accept these people are aware that it will take many long years, before the host is able to function normally again, if ever. For those, the host chooses not to take control and interact with others. If at all possible, at least one time a day the symbiote will insist that the host take control, even if it is only to walk from their chamber to the 'mess hall'. Some are so traumatized that even that is beyond them, and for a long time, we do not insist that they do so, but after a time, the symbiote will begin to encourage and, when they feel they have healed sufficiently, insist that they begin taking control, as I said, even if only for a short walk."

Daniel nodded, saying, "You give them a chance to live a life, even if it is vicariously through you. And, since you live a couple of hundred years, there is every possibility that they will heal enough to lead a life of their own. I think that's a really great thing for you to do."

Daimesh nodded, saying, "Thank you. I appreciate your words and sentiments. However, I must correct a misapprehension. Depending on the circumstances, some of our hosts can live for four or five hundred years. One of the determining factors is the age of the host, when they blend. Saroosh was already in her late fifties when she blended with Selmak. She had just lost her entire family to the Goa'uld. Had she been in her forties, she would possibly have lived one hundred and fifty years more."

Daniel's eyes widened, as he said, "Wow, that means…" He trailed off, as he realized he had almost said that Sam would be living a very long time. He changed his comment, "That seems like a long time to us."

Daimesh agreed, and added, "The number of years the host lives also depends upon the normal life expectancy of their people. For instance, Martouf's people are rather long-lived themselves, often seeing two hundred years or more. I believe he was in his early thirties, when he and Lantash blended, and they have been together for over a hundred years. Assuming they do not die in the meantime, he could live another five hundred years. What is your normal life expectancy, Dr. Jackson?"

"Well, in the United States, this is the country on Earth that we are from, the life expectancy is late seventies to early eighties, I believe."

"Had Jolinar survived, and Major Carter and she stayed together as Lifemates, she would probably have lived four or five hundred years."

Jack glanced over when someone quietly joined their group, and was surprised to see that it was Cordesh. He hadn't exactly been the friendliest person they'd met so far; therefore, Jack was surprised when he told them, "If you have any other questions, feel free to ask."

Jack didn't like or trust this Cordesh guy. There was just something about him, other than his nasty personality and attitude that just screamed at Jack to watch him, not turn his back on him, and be very skeptical of anything he might say or do. Following his instincts, Jack fell a little behind Cordesh, feigning an interest in the other chambers they passed, as Daimesh and Aldwin took turns explaining the purpose for each of them to an absorbed Daniel and Teal'c. He stopped and watched what they were doing in one of them, deliberately falling behind to the point where he would have to catch up. He watched as Cordesh silently broke off from the remainder of the group, and headed down a side passage. His curiosity, backed by those instincts, took over, and he followed him instead of the others.

He followed at enough of a distance not to attract his attention, but close enough to see which room he entered. It was fairly close by, and he wandered around in the hall, as if exploring, for a short time, before deciding to see what Cordesh was doing. Moving in front of the doorway, he pretended to be studying the crystal walls, as he made a quick survey and catalogued everything he saw, including what Cordesh was doing.

Looking up from the box in his hands, Cordesh asked him, "May I help you?"

Hearing him, Jack took his attention from the walls and stared at him rather blankly, saying, "No, I was just waiting on you. I thought it would be rude to just walk off and leave you." He gave a Jack O'Neill grin, adding, "I admit to being curious about the Tok'Ra's everyday lives, and how you all live together, so I was just sort of looking around, too."

"I see. Well this is not the way to the dining chamber. I was not going the remaining way with you; I was simply walking with you, until I reached my own chamber." Cordesh closed the box he held, and set it down on the shelf in front of him.

"Oh! Well, I'm sorry. In that case, I'll go catch up with the others. Do I just follow the tunnel we were walking down?"

"No harm done. These, as you are probably aware by now, are my private quarters. As for the direction you should take to catch up with your teammates, yes, simply follow the tunnel. You will find them in a rather large chamber with many tables and a variety of foodstuffs available."

Jack made a show of looking around again, before commenting, "Not very private."

Cordesh nodded, explaining, "The Tok'ra hold no secrets from each other. There is no need for doors, although we do prefer to have a space of our own rather than living communally in one room. Our schedules are too diverse for that to be comfortable for anyone. Would you like for me to help you find your group or do you believe that you can find it yourself?"

"No, no thanks. I'm pretty sure I can find my way back. You said just to follow the main tunnel, and I think I can manage. We'll probably see you a little later."

Cordesh nodded his head, and Jack returned the way he came. But he was unsettled and even more leery of the man. He would cause trouble for them, if he could, and unfortunately, being on their Council, he probably could.

* * *

Daniel realized that Jack and Cordesh had disappeared. Feeling that perhaps he should attempt to keep attention away from the fact that he was no longer with them, he turned to Aldwin, asking, "How fast can you grow a facility like this?"

Aldwin gave him a brief smile, explaining, "These tunnels can be built quite rapidly. We build chambers and tunnels only as we need them. That is why we only now added the corridor and chamber you were in, when you met with the council members. We are approaching a chamber that is being added for some of our scientists, so you will be able to see for yourselves how quickly they can be grown.

Jack quietly joined them, as Daniel, and Teal'c, stood and watched with awe as the blue crystal visibly stretched out to form a new tunnel, moving off into the distance.

Not having heard their guard, he murmured, "What the hell?"

Daniel turned to him, before he could give away the fact that he was missing for a time, saying, "You must have been daydreaming, Jack. Aldwin just explained that they're growing a new tunnel."

Jack glanced at him, and gave a small, embarrassed smile, before confessing, "Yeah, I was thinking about some work I left unfinished on my desk. Sorry. I'll try to pay better attention."

Aldwin gave him a forgiving glance saying, "It is quite all right, Colonel; I understand," before turning and heading on down the tunnel they were originally following. It wasn't too much farther, when they turned into a large room filled with tables, chairs, and food. He indicated that they should choose what they wanted, and the three of them thanked him, before doing as he suggested. Bowing to them, he indicated that he and Markesh would be standing outside the room, as they were not hungry, at the moment. Daimesh bid them good-bye, explaining, "I am on my way to one of the medical bays. Since it is in the same direction you were going, I simply accompanied you. I must admit to curiosity about you, though, as my motivator. I did enjoy our time together and hope that we will meet again later."

Speaking for the three of them, Daniel assured him, "We really enjoyed hearing about the Tok'Ra, so I think the feelings were mutual. We'll look forward to seeing you later, as well."

Once they were seated, Teal'c commented, "I was somewhat surprised at the openness of those that accompanied us. They did not seem to mind discussing the symbiote/host relationship. Their descriptions were well able to convey the way the two lived and worked together. I found it very interesting."

"So did I, Teal'c." Jack looked at the other two as they stared at him, as if he'd grown another head. "What? I can't have an interest in something other than hockey, beer, and the Simpsons? I thought their explanations of the way the symbiote and host work together was good. At least, now, I understand a little more about…well, about how the two get along, Okay?"

"Sure, Jack. No problem. I'm actually glad that you found it interesting, as well as informative. I think it will help you with other—um—contacts with alien species."

Jack snorted, and continued to eat his sort of pie-like food, which he had to admit, was surprisingly good.

Daniel looked pensive, as they ate the food that was similar to pie, and drank some type of tea. "I wonder how Sam's doing? I sure hope they can find the missing pieces for us." He ate his last bite of the pie-like food, saying, "This is like a cross between a strawberry and an apple. I think I really like it. I wonder where they get it? Maybe we should find out. If they get it on some other world, which I assume they do, then it might be worth finding it. If they're a trading world, they might have other things we could use."

The Colonel nodded, pushing his tray away. "True, Daniel." Lowering his voice to a whisper, he added, "If things work out, maybe we'll be able to find out that and more. They must have several worlds with which they trade."

Daniel agreed, as he gathered up their empty plates and trays. Looking around, he saw a few others stacked near what looked like an opening in the crystal wall. He took them over there and placed them with the other used trays, before returning to his teammates.

Just as he regained his seat, Garshaw swept into the room, obviously looking for them, and obviously angry. He raised his eyebrows, as she spotted them and strode to the table at which they were sitting. As she reached their table, she ordered someone who out of their range of sight, "Bring them in!" Turning back to face them, she demanded, "What are your people planning?"

Jack looked as blank as Daniel did, when he answered her, "Beg your pardon?"

Her anger barely kept in check, she spit out, "The Chaappa'ai just activated, and brought forth these!"

His expression still one of amazed blankness, Daniel murmured a questioning, "SG-3?"

Colonel O'Neill stood, asking, "Colonel Makepeace? What are you doing here?"

Colonel Makepeace sighed, obviously unhappy, before he replied, "General Hammond sent us to extract Major Carter."

The three teammates stared at him, for a moment, until Daniel shook himself free of his shock, to ask him, "Why?"

"I'm afraid it's her father, Dr. Jackson, Colonel O'Neill. He's in the hospital in critical condition. The doctor told the General that, if there was family to be called, then, he should do it ASAP. I got the impression that, well, evidently, he could die anytime."

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, before taking a deep breath, and then staring at the wall, and murmuring, "Damn. She almost put off coming here because of her dad, but she felt our need, for that information, was too urgent for her to put off trying to recall it. We've got to tell her right away, Jack."

Jack sighed heavily. This would be a really hard blow to Carter, if he died before she could get back. "Crap." He turned to Garshaw. "We aren't planning anything. As you no doubt heard, Major Carter's father is dying. We need to tell her, and get her back to the base, so she can get to the hospital, preferably, before that happens. Do you know where they went to try that…recall thingy?"

Garshaw shook her head no, and it was apparent that most of her anger was gone, but a little distrust still lingered. "I cannot say with absolute certainty, for I did not know where they were going. However, since Malek accompanied them, I suspect they went to his chamber. I will send someone there to check, at once, and if they are there, tell them that Major Carter is needed."

"Thanks. We'd appreciate it."

Turning, she called out to one of the men that were watching over SG-1, "Markesh, please go to the guest quarters, and see if Lantash, Malek, and Major Carter are there. If they are, then tell them to please bring the Major here to us."

Markesh bowed his head and left to find the Major.

"Colonel O'Neill, the council has determined that, until we have had a chance to talk to Lantash a little more in depth, we wish you to remain, as our guests. We will talk to him, as soon as possible, I assure you."

O'Neill's face closed, and he gave no emotion to her, as he asked, "Are you saying that we are prisoners here?"

She sighed. "No. If you absolutely will not remain, we will not force you to stay; however, we _are_ discussing the Major and Dr. Jackson's proposals. It would be helpful, if there was someone here that could answer questions—and by voluntarily remaining it would help to build trust. I am sure you must realize that."

"Let me think about it, until Carter gets here. Then we'll see."

She paused for a moment, before adding, "You realize that by knowing about us, it makes the Tau'ri a priority target, do you not?"

Jack sent her a wry smile, as he answered, "Garshaw, we've made so many waves across the galaxy that we're _already_ a priority target. What's one more reason to come after us?"

She bowed her head in silent acknowledgement of that truth, as they awaited Samantha Carter's arrival.

* * *

Markesh was stopped, at the end of the hall, by Malek's personal guard. He was asked to remain there, while one of them notified Malek that he was here, and wished to speak to him. He acquiesced, knowing that Malek would return shortly. If he understood everything that was said, before he was sent here, and he was quite sure that he did not miss anything that they said, then the lovely Major that had hosted Jolinar, for such a short time, was in danger of losing her father to some illness. It was imperative that she leave at once, if she wished to see him before he died. There would be no obstruction from Malek; he was very sure of that.

He stopped his ruminations as Malek, accompanied by his guard, approached him. He stepped up to him at once.

Malek was frowning slightly, as he could imagine no reason, short of an attack on his base, which would cause Garshaw to interrupt them. Markesh appeared concerned, but not overly so, and that ruled out any attacks on them or anyone else.

"Yes, Markesh? You have a message for me?"

Markesh shook his head. "No, it is for Major Carter. I have been sent to tell you that she needs to meet with Garshaw and her people in the dining chamber right away."

Malek's frown deepened, but before he could question him, Markesh continued, "More of Major Carter's people came through the Chaappa'ai. Master Garshaw and other council members were upset, as they at first believed that the Tau'ri were planning something against us, however, those sent are only four, and they claim to have been sent to extract the Major. They have told us that her father is quite ill and is dying. Evidently, it is quite serious, as she needs to return, if she wishes to see him, before he passes. I believe that Garshaw would like to be able to observe her reaction, when she is told, so if you would refrain from telling her exactly why she is being summoned, it might be for the best. As I said, they are all in the dining chamber."

Malek sighed, but nodded. Garshaw was not yet privy to Jolinar's presence and so was being very cautious. He could not really blame her; however, he had no idea what to tell Major Carter. "I will bring them shortly. You may go ahead, and tell them that we will return, in a moment. Thank you."

Markesh bowed his head and turned to retrace his steps. It was not far, and so, would not take long to traverse.

Malek stepped into his chamber and motioned to Lantash that he needed to talk to the two of them.

Lantash nodded in return and turned to Sam and Jolinar. "Malek needs to talk to us, Samantha. Evidently, something has come up, as Garshaw sent a messenger to us."

Sam opened her eyes, nodded, and looked over at Malek, asking, "What's going on, Malek?"

He avoided her eyes by crossing the room to pick up his zat'nik'tel, as he answered, "I am not really sure, Major Carter. The message asks that you rejoin your teammates, for a short time, if you would. Perhaps, the council has met again and wishes to talk to you some more."

Sam sighed, and then shrugged, saying, "Okay. Let's go and get it over with, so that we can return to this. I feel like I really, really need to find that name."

Lantash narrowed his eyes, as he looked at Malek, who gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head in response. Malek was not being completely honest, and he wondered why. He did not believe that he would lead them into danger, so there must be something going on that, while not dangerous to Samantha and Jolinar, was still very serious.

They quickly left the room, and Malek led the way to the dining chamber. Upon entering, Sam stood very still and looked at the new arrivals. Her eyes turned to Colonel O'Neill, the question in them unmistakable. He sighed and told her, "Carter, General Hammond sent Makepeace and SG-3 to extract you, and get you back to the SGC." He cleared his throat. Jeeze, he hated this. Still, he started to tell her, "It seems that…"

She didn't allow him to finish. "It's my dad, isn't it? What's happened? I talked to him on the phone right before we left."

Watching her, Garshaw could find no trace that the scene was manufactured, in any way. The Major was in true distress; she was not acting.

O'Neill shook his head, telling her, "I don't know. Makepeace might have more information."

Sam turned to the other Colonel, asking, "Colonel Makepeace? Did anyone give you any details about what's going on?"

"No, not really, Major. I was only told to get you back, as soon as possible. He's in the hospital and his condition isn't good. I'm afraid that's all I know."

"You don't know how far along my father is?"

Colonel Makepeace looked uncomfortable. "Not really. We were just told to get you back to the base ASAP."

Sam's voice was bitter, as she remarked, "He doesn't even know why I'm not there for him. He thinks I'm off somewhere working on some damn satellite dish or something."

Colonel O'Neill assured her, "We're going to get you back there, Carter. The good news is, there's eight of us now. That's four more hostages to ensure that you return."

Sam looked at him in surprise, saying, "Excuse me? Have I missed something?"

"The Tok'Ra have asked us to remain as their 'guests' until you return. I'll go with you, though. I will say that our remaining as their 'guests' is strongly suggested, though we can go, if we want to. I just decided that being willing hostages won't hurt us any, and this way will prove that we have no ulterior motives in coming here. Although," he finished, his voice heavy with disbelief," I have no idea what they think eight humans can do against hundreds of Tok'Ra."

Sam shook her head, as she looked at Lantash. Seeing the question in her eyes, he answered it, "I have no idea, Major Carter. You are here with me, as my guests. To suspect you, is to suspect me of being Shol'va. It makes no sense to me. I do not know why they would suddenly consider me so."

Garshaw's eyes widened, as she took in his remarks. In all truth, she had forgotten that it was Lantash's suggestion that brought them here in the first place. Sighing, she entered the conversation, "I apologize, Major Carter. The Tok'Ra have lived for a very long time unable to trust anyone other than ourselves and a few others. I should have remembered that you came with Lantash, at his request. He would not have brought you, if he felt that you and your people were a danger to us."

"You are all free to go. Perhaps, we can continue our discussions some other time."

With this concession on her part, Jack O'Neill made a decision of his own. He still wasn't happy about what he saw in Cordesh's room. Once again, his instincts were screaming at him. "Well, unless you just want us to leave, we'd rather stay here, at least for a while, and get to know you better. We might come closer to meeting in the middle, if we both get some insight into the other. I can come back once I get the Major safely to the SGC."

"That will not be necessary, Colonel O'Neill. I will accompany the Major. Since she is still connected to the memory recall device, it would be well to have one of us with her, in case a memory surfaces, while she is on Earth. It can sometimes disorient the person for a time."

"I agree, Colonel. Lantash is probably the best one to accompany me. Besides, I may need him for another reason." She turned to Lantash, and asked him, "Didn't you tell me that one of your people is in need of a host?"

Lantash nodded, as if he knew nothing of what she was thinking, "Yes. Selmak, the oldest and wisest among us, is in need of a new host. Saroosh, her present host has reached the end of her lifespan and is dying. Without a new host, Selmak will die along with her present host. It will be a great loss to the Tok'Ra, as I am sure you can understand."

Sam nodded, and then turned to Garshaw. "When Martouf, Lantash, and I talked about Jolinar, the Tok'Ra, the symbiote, and, oh, just all kinds of things, he told me that the symbiote can cure most problems in a human. Is that true?"

Garshaw bowed her head, agreeing with Lantash, "Yes, it is."

Sam nodded again, and then asked, "Does that include cancer?"

One of the Tok'Ra healers happened to be there, and she appeared confused. The Major's words confused her. She was not familiar with that term. She believed it was simply a matter of using different names for diseases, but she wanted to be sure, and so Arwanna asked her, rather hesitantly, "What is cancer? What does it do and what are its symptoms?"

Before Sam could think of a concise way to explain it, Daniel told them, "It's a disease in humans where the cells grow out of control, you get tumors…"

They could see Garshaw's immediate understanding, "Oh yes, it's a common ailment amongst your species. We cure it all the time, it's no problem."

Sam turned to the Colonel, saying, "Colonel, I think we should at least try to offer it to my Dad. I wasn't with Jolinar long enough to learn anything pertinent, but I know that what they say about sharing the body is true and that their goals are important to them. I think he might consider it."

Teal'c, Daniel, and O'Neill looked at Carter, each of them reading between the lines.

O'Neill turned to Garshaw, telling her, "It looks like we might have a host for you after all."

Looking hopeful, Garshaw asked, to make sure she understood their conversation, "You have a host for Selmak?"

Sam answered this time, asserting, "Yes. My father. You know that he's dying. Well, he's got cancer, and if Selmak can save his life, I think he'd be willing to try it. I can't guarantee that he will, but I can at least go and talk to him. I'd like for Lantash to come, as well. Not only because of the memory recall device, but also, as an example of what I will be attempting to explain to him, if he doesn't understand what I mean. If he doesn't, then I think it might help, if he can see that there really are two beings sharing the same body and observe it for himself. At least, I can hope it will help anyway."

Garshaw bowed her head, "Very well, Major Carter. I believe that is a reasonable approach to take, when you talk to him, and too, Lantash is correct in that the memory recall device could awaken a memory, which could cause you to become somewhat disoriented. It would be best to have someone there with you that is familiar with how it works, and who would know what to do for you. In the meantime, we will…get to know each other better, as the Colonel has suggested."

Sam gave another quick nod, saying, "Then if you don't mind, I believe that I really should go now. We may not be in time the way it is."

"Of course."

Lantash turned to her, saying, "Come, then. We will be back at the SGC in a few minutes."

They both turned to Malek, as Lantash told him, "We will return, as soon as we can. I am afraid our discussion will have to await events."

"Rest assured that I will be here." It looked as if he had more to say, however, he stopped himself, and bowed his head in farewell.

Sam, Lantash, and Martouf left immediately for the Ring platform. Both knew that time was not on their side. For Samantha's sake, he hoped they would not arrive at the SGC only to find out that the worst had already happened. Reaching out, he took his mate's hand in his and squeezed it gently.

Within her, Sam was listening to her Lifemate, _"We will arrive in time, Samantha. Please do not despair. We will do everything we can to save them both." _

Sam sighed, assuring her, _"I know, Jolinar. We're doing all we can. The only thing we could have done was stay behind at the SGC. No doubt, Martouf and Lantash knew that Selmak's situation was becoming critical, and once we explained that we had the go ahead to offer some hosts to the Tok'Ra, he would have told us that Selmak was in need. I guess I should have brought it up right away, before dad took this major downturn. But, hindsight is twenty-twenty, and there is no point in wallowing in 'what might have beens'." _

"_That is very true, my Sam. Now, your code has been accepted. Let us go." _

Martouf came fore and smiled at her briefly, as they stepped toward and into the event horizon.

TBC


	23. Surprises All Around Ch 23 AAOF

_**Chapter Twenty-three Summary: **Sam, Martouf, Lantash, and General Hammond tell Jacob what Sam's 'job' is in Colorado Springs. He has trouble taking it all in, but when she offers him an alternative to death, he begins to realize that overwhelming or not, he needs to come to terms with it. He decides to go with them. When they arrive, they find chaos, as the Tok'Ra and their Tau'ri guests scramble to evacuate, before the Goa'uld attack. As soon as Daniel tells Sam that the Colonel "thinks" Cordesh is the traitor, she recognizes that he's correct, as Jolinar's memories pour into their mind. O'Neill continues to try to find Garshaw to warn her. Sam, Jacob, Martouf, and Lantash head for Selmak and Saroosh's chamber. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

_**Mer Cor – **My Heart_

_**Mer Prinekh – **My Lifemate, a term of endearment between Symbiote and Host. Can be translated as meaning something like Beloved Lifemate or Sweet Lifemate. _

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Twenty-three**_

_**Surprises All Around**_

* * *

Sam, Martouf, and Lantash stepped out of the fluctuating blue pool and onto the SGC ramp. General Hammond awaited them at the bottom of it, and as the gate shut down after only the two of them stepped out, he asked, "Major Carter, where are Colonel Makepeace and SG-3? They were supposed to extract only you. Not that I object, but why are Martouf and Lantash here instead of SG-3?"

Martouf bowed his head in greeting, and answered before Sam could, saying, "General, I believe that we need to talk, and that, perhaps, the briefing room would be a much better place to do so."

Sam gave her opinion, as well, saying, "I agree, General. There's a lot going on right now."

"Very well. Let's go."

Not able to wait until they reached their destination, near though it was, Sam turned to the General, and asked, bluntly, "Sir, how is my father? How serious is this—relapse—or whatever it is, that's occurred? I was under the impression that he was better, even though, I felt he wasn't telling me the entire truth."

General Hammond looked over at her, and knowing that she deserved the truth, not some platitude, he told her, just as bluntly, "The doctor told me that, if there was family, I should contact them to come. That's why I sent SG-3 to extract you."

Sam gasped in surprise and pain, as Martouf clasped her hand tightly. Finally, she managed to respond to his statement, "So, he was lying to us. He's much worse than he told us he was."

As they entered the briefing room and sat down, Hammond shook his head, telling her, "No, I don't believe he lied. Jacob is just as surprised as you and I are. Truthfully. When I talked to him, I mentioned that I was under the impression that he was much better, and he agreed that he was, too. However, and these are his words not mine, although they did clear up the lymph glands, a 'squadron of the little buggers, got reassigned to his liver. Evidently, there isn't anything they can do, Sam. It's a matter of time, and there's very little of that. I'm sorry."

Sam nodded slowly, and took a deep breath, before saying quietly, "General Hammond, you do remember what the President agreed to, don't you?"

"Yes, Major, I do. To tell you the truth, I planned to have you extracted even before…" he sighed, as he realized that he'd have to tell her how close a call Jacob actually had. "He called and told me that he was in the hospital, and that it wasn't great news. I went over immediately. He refused to have you recalled. He figured out that, whatever you were doing, it must be pretty important. The only thing he asked was for me to tell him what it is you really do. I came very close to doing it, but I knew that the President had given his okay with conditions attached. That's when I decided to go counter to Jacob's wishes and have you recalled anyway."

"Jacob dozed off after a short time, and I went out into the hall to think over my decision. I was still convinced that it was the right thing to do, but before I could find a phone outside of his room, where he couldn't overhear me—well, there's no easy way to tell you this, Sam. Jacob went into cardiac arrest, and they brought him back. I was back in the room and watched them do it, and afterwards, I talked to the doctor. That's when he told me to call in any family that needed to be called. He said that Jacob could pass on at any time."

General Hammond paused, watching the stunned look on the woman's face, before adding, "I'm hoping you are going to tell me that I made the right decision, and there is a symbiote waiting for a host."

Sam nodded. "Yes. There is. We're ready to go to the hospital now."

The General weighed his words before telling her, "I can't let Martouf and Lantash go, Major."

"He has to go, General. I need someone besides me that is Tok'Ra in case dad doesn't believe me, or doesn't understand what I'm telling him. I'm not going to tell him that I'm Tok'Ra, while he's so ill, unless I have no choice. If I think he does need to talk to a Tok'Ra, I'd rather it was a neutral third party that tried to explain about them. I'd rather not have to try to explain how I'm Tok'Ra, too. I'm sure the President would agree to him going, General Hammond, but if you really don't think that he would approve, perhaps we could call him and make sure."

General Hammond's thoughts went over everything the President had said to him concerning Jolinar and the Major, as well as Martouf and Lantash. She was correct. He would approve their going with them to see and talk to Jacob. Finally, sure in his own mind, he threw his original knee-jerk reaction to her suggestion into a deep dark place, confined it there, and turned his thoughts outward again. He nodded. "You're right. He would agree to it. So, since that is the case, we should be leaving. Since Martouf and Lantash are already wearing BDUs, we won't have to wait while they change. Get your post mission medical checks, and we'll be on our way."

Sam cleared her throat, before reminding him, "General, we really don't need a physical. The symbiote takes care of any problems short of severe injuries. It will only take time we may not have."

He started to tell her that they had to follow procedure, when he realized that it really was a pointless waste of time—both theirs and Dr. Fraiser's. The symbiote would allow no disease within their host's bodies. He was already stretching the rules; he might as well let the rubber band break. Nodding once more, he sighed, saying, "Very well, Major Carter. This time, we'll ignore the rules and procedures. In fact, we may have to rethink them all together. You and Teal'c are both a waste of Dr. Fraiser's time." He shook his head, before adding, "Let's go."

The three left the briefing room and headed topside. Lantash could not stop a tremor of excitement. He would be stepping onto the soil of the first world, for the first time. He wished it was under better, happier circumstances; however, it was not, and he could not seem to suppress that shiver of awe and anticipation. He glanced over at Samantha, but if Jolinar felt anything, she was not showing it.

"_Were we not told that Jolinar and Samantha met with their leader in their, um, capitol city? If so, then she has been here before," _Martouf reminded him.

"_Yes, you are correct. I should not have forgotten that." _Lantash frowned at his forgetting something like that. It was not an unimportant detail that would be thrown out, but a rather important piece of information. They had perfect recall, so how had that slipped away from him? Perhaps he should do a thorough check of his systems and Martouf's. Could he be missing some aberration or problem within them? He heard Martouf's laughter and realized it was aimed at him and his thoughts.

"_What is that pertaining to, Martouf? I see no humor in a possible mental problem." _

Still chuckling, Martouf caressed him to take some of the sting of his laughter away. After all, Lantash was seriously considering that he was missing some mental or physical problem that they might have. _"You are correct, Mer Prinekh, if there truly was a problem, be it mental or physical, it would not be a laughing matter; however, since I sincerely doubt there is any problem, it amused me. Lantash, Mer Cor, yes, it is important data, but I really believe that in the relief of having Jolinar returned to us, we both probably missed a few bits of information here and there. If it continues, then we will worry about it, but for the moment, put it down to a momentary lapse, probably of inattention, and forget it. There is no point in worrying now, anyway, as we have other important things to think of and do. Besides, you will spoil your initial view of the First World. Allow yourself to enjoy your excitement. At least, forget it until later." _

Martouf felt him relax. Almost sheepishly, Lantash answered him, agreeing, _"You are correct. I will worry later, if at all." _He paused before adding, _"Thank you." _

Once they were in the elevator and headed upwards, the General commented, "On the way to the hospital, perhaps you can explain the absence of Colonel Makepeace and SG-3."

"Oh, that won't take long to do, General Hammond."

Reaching the upper level, they stepped out of the elevator and made their way to the exit, where their transportation was waiting for them.

They entered the waiting vehicle, and after making sure the privacy glass was in place, Sam began to explain the other team's absence. "From what the Colonel managed to tell me, right before we left, the subject of an alliance came up, at some point, while the others were talking to Garshaw. I alluded to it, too, but it came up again, while I was using the recall device. At first, they didn't think we had anything concrete that we could offer them, but they wanted to give it some more thought. We pointed out that by not becoming at least friendly acquaintances; we were putting both of our people at risk of being killed by the other. Anyway, they decided that they wanted to get to know us better, so the Colonel volunteered SG-1 and SG-3 to stay and, no doubt, the Colonel would voice it as, '_make nice with the natives_'. I think he likes them better than some of the people with which we've come into contact. But, he's not completely won over, either. I think there's distrust on both sides, and it may take time and familiarity to erase it. Maybe this will help to start doing that. That and my dad becoming a host, if he's willing."

"As you say, it is a start. Is that your impression of what's happening, too, Martouf? Lantash?"

Martouf looked thoughtful, for a moment, before telling him, "The Tok'Ra have had to rely on stealth and staying hidden from everyone, for over two thousand years, General. That will not be washed away in one meeting. On the other hand, I consider it to be a positive circumstance that they wish to learn more about the Tau'ri, as well as allow the Tau'ri to become more familiar with them."

Lantash came fore, carefully shielding the glow of his eyes, so that the driver of their 'car', a mode of transportation he was not sure he cared for, would not see it. "I believe that Martouf is correct in his view of what has occurred. I am encouraged, as well, because we have not yet put forth our reasons why there should be an alliance, or at the very least some cooperation between our people and yours. I plan on attempting to have a meeting with Per'sus, our High Councilor, Master Garshaw, a very much respected base commander who is on the High Council, Malek, another base commander, who is very well respected, as well as being on the High Council, and aware of…everything…and myself, along with SG-1. Although I am hopeful that Jolinar will be able to make herself known, before the meeting, if she has not had an opportunity to do so, then that is when she will announce her survival, explain what has occurred to her and Rosha, and put forth the reasons for forming an alliance. We have not yet mentioned the Asgard, or any of the other pertinent reasons we have for feeling it would be beneficial."

General Hammond nodded. "That sounds reasonable. I realize it will take time to arrange and take place, though, and I will expect SG-1 to be on this mission for several days."

"I believe that would be wise," Lantash replied. His attention was wandering, though, as he took in the many people, the roads, the other 'cars', the shops and buildings. The Tau'ri were much more advanced than most of the societies they came into contact with, and every new thing he discovered about them made him that much more sure that, if they did not ally with them, they would be making a rather large mistake.

"_I agree, Lantash. Their technology might appear almost primitive to some, yet they have done all of this without outside help. None whatsoever. It is truly amazing, but I do not know how to convey this discovery to the Council," _Martouf's voice was despondent, as he talked to his Lifemate.

"_We will think of something even if it means bringing the Council here and taking them for a car ride. Although," _his voice suddenly thoughtful, he continued, "_do you recall the images that Samantha showed us of Earth from space, Martouf? The ones taken at night? Remember how many lights shone out from Earth? That image alone would help them to understand the growth of the people, and the fact that the light is not from fires, but from artificial light, would show that there have been many advances. While it is true that they have not made the advances that we have, much of the technology of the Goa'uld, and therefore, us, was stolen. The Tok'Ra have become innovators through the years, though, and we now do invent much of our technology. The Tau'ri, as you stated, have invented every piece of technology they have without outside help. Perhaps, as Jolinar believes, eventually, they will see the merit of an alliance. Perhaps, it will not be soon, but sometime in the future, they will see the need for it." _

"_We can hope, Lantash. And we can join Jolinar and Samantha in working toward seeing to it that it comes to fruition." _

"_Yes, we will." _He looked up as the 'car' slowed._ "I believe we have arrived at the 'hospital'." _Samantha's tenseness, as she sat beside them would have given it away, if he had not looked up, though. He took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. Turning her head, she gave him a brief smile and squeezed back, just as the car rolled to a stop. Lantash quickly turned control back to Martouf, before they exited the car.

* * *

SG-1 and SG-3 sat quietly, still in the dining chamber. Garshaw, also, remained; however, she sat for a while, with a few of the other Tok'Ra, which O'Neill had determined were as much guards, as they were attendants. They had eaten a light meal, and Aldwin had then disappeared, but Markesh and another Tok'Ra named Jorlin had joined them. The other Tok'Ra left and Garshaw sat alone obviously lost in thought, some of which must not have been pleasant.

Teal'c felt that if the Tok'Ra and the Tau'ri were to come to know one another, someone must initiate a dialog. Since everyone else was lost in their own thoughts, he decided that it would have to be him. His decision made, he arose and approached Garshaw. Bowing before her, he told her, his sincerity obvious in his voice, "I would like to take this opportunity to express my admiration for your cause. It is both honorable and brave."

Garshaw bowed her head in return, as she replied, "Thank you, Jaf…Teal'c. I must say that I feel the same about you. To break from Apophis, and then turn to fight him shows great conviction of character. It is an honor to meet you."

Teal'c bowed once more, as he responded to her praise, "Thank you. I will not tell you that it was easy; however, neither will I tell an untruth, and say that it was hard. It was—and yet, it was not. Once I realized that I had finally found someone that I believed had a chance of defeating the System Lords, my decision became…easier, though still not easy. It has been a learning experience on both sides. I do admire the Tau'ri of this country, Master Garshaw, for they have taken on the responsibility of protecting their entire world, even though that world knows it not. It is not easy for them, either. There is much substance to them that may not at first be apparent."

"Please, Teal'c, sit." As he sat beside her, she asked him, "Tell me about the Tau'ri, Teal'c. You have lived with them, fought with them, and learned of them. What can you tell me, that you feel would be of benefit for us to know of them?"

Teal'c sat quietly, as he gathered his thoughts. "The Chaappa'ai was found many years ago, but no one knew what it was. Two of the people responsible for discovering its purpose, you have met today. Samantha Carter was responsible for adapting their technology to dial the gate as they had no dialing device, only the Chaappa'ai." He watched as her eyes widened slightly, the only outward sign of her surprise. He continued, explaining, "Daniel Jackson is the one that discovered that the symbols were addresses. Between the two of them, they opened the worlds of the Chaappa'ai, or as they call it, the Stargate, to their people. It was the two of them, too, that figured out that so much time had passed that their calculations would have to be redone in order for their dialing device to connect them to more than one world. Daniel Jackson discovered a cartouche of gate addresses, and Samantha Carter was responsible for the calculations needed to allow them to connect to those addresses."

Again her eyes widened. "I see. You are correct, Teal'c. Those are impressive accomplishments, especially when one realizes they had no outside influence or help." She paused in thought, before asking him, "And their encounters with the Goa'uld?"

"Interesting, to say the least. They killed their first Goa'uld on their first trip through the Chaappa'ai. About a year later, Apophis came through their Stargate and took one of their soldiers. A woman. I am sorry to say that I am responsible for her death, as Amaunet decided she did not want her, as her host, and so Apophis killed her. Apophis, also, has Daniel Jackson's wife. While searching for her, they were captured by Apophis."

"I see. It sounds as if their ventures with the Chaappa'ai have been fraught with danger."

"Yes. Some of them have been; however, many have gained them friends. They have worlds where they can send people who have escaped the Goa'uld or some other oppression."

"I will tell you of my meeting with them, and my decision to ally myself with them, if you would like to hear it. I think that the story speaks to their abilities and…character traits."

Garshaw nodded her agreement, assuring him, "Please do, Teal'c. I would like to hear how you came to ally with them."

He nodded and began his story, "When they were captured by Apophis, there was something about them that intrigued me. They attempted to protect those around them, even though they did not know them. Their teammates and a friend, they guarded fiercely. When I asked where they were from, and they drew the symbol for the Tau'ri, I felt something inside myself shift and expand, crying to be released. That they would show the world of the Tau'ri, long thought to be a myth and nothing more, was…I cannot even tell you what I felt at that moment. I do not know if I ever could."

"But to continue, when Apophis ordered us to kill all of the people in the room, which was many, they did not give up, even though, they had no weapons. O'Neill looked at me, and said, "I can save these people. Help me. Help me."

"I told him, "Many have said that. But you are the first I believe could do it." That is when I made my first decision and changed the course of my life; I turned on my own men. I killed one, and then I threw my staff weapon to O'Neill and picked up and used the one from the fallen Jaffa. Between us, we killed the other Jaffa and scared those at the doors away. O'Neill blew a hole in the wall of the prison, and his team made sure that the people escaped first, before they left. Everyone was released, "before" they would leave themselves, something that I considered a very telling gesture." Garshaw nodded her agreement, but said nothing.

"Once the room was empty of people, I suddenly realized what I had done. I dropped my helmet to the floor and simply stood there, not knowing what I would now do. O'Neill started to step through the hole in the wall, but he turned around, looked at me, and then waved his hand at me, saying, "Come on."

"I told him that I had nowhere to go." For the first time, since he began the story of his choice to go against Apophis and join the Tau'ri, he smiled slightly, saying, "He told me, "For this, you can stay at my place. Let's go!" I looked around me at the world I was leaving behind, and then I made the second choice that would shift my life's path, once again. I left it all behind. I have never looked back, for in my heart, I know that in the end, we will prevail against the Goa'uld."

"And the Tau'ri will be in the fight to achieve our ends. Do not underestimate them. They are much stronger than they appear. They are adaptable, capable, and intelligent. They can think 'on their feet'. I know these things, for a fact, for I live among them every day. They are an honorable people…for the most part. Just as in most societies, theirs has its evils. It is not the majority of the people; however, for most are good and honest. I am not sure what else to tell you about them, for to me, the things I have told you tell their story and show them, as they are; courageous, loyal, determined, intelligent, and strong in ways some would not understand. If you become friends or allies, you will never have to question their loyalty or willingness to help you…unless you have betrayed or in some way harmed them. Then, of course, as they would tell you, 'all bets are off'."

Realizing that Teal'c had finished what he wished her to know, Garshaw bowed her head, as she told him, "Thank you, Teal'c. I will listen to your words. I do not think that you would have allied yourself with them, if you did not see something in them that made you believe in them."

Teal'c shook his head. "No, I would not. As I said, others had told me the same type of thing that O'Neill did, but only in the Tau'ri did I sense the will and ability to achieve their goals. They do not give up."

They both looked up, as a Tok'Ra ran up to her, and began to speak, before they even stopped running, "Master Garshaw, we just received word from our scout in the Shoran'ka quadrant. The Goa'uld System Lords have been told where we are. They have dispatched two motherships. As with the other base attacks, the scout could not discover how they are finding out."

Garshaw nodded briefly, acknowledging his report, and then asking him, "When will they arrive?"

Darmak shook his head, as he answered, "Within the day, perhaps even within hours."

She stood abruptly, telling him, "Start the evacuation! We have no time to waste, if we wish to save our equipment, as well as ourselves."

Teal'c stood and walked back to where the other SGC members were sitting and took a seat with them. Speaking in a whisper, he informed them, "One of the Tok'Ra's scouts has just notified them that the System Lords are on their way to attack the base. It would appear that Major Carter was right to feel that they were running out of time."

"How soon do they expect the attack, Teal'c?" O'Neill was calm, but worried.

"Definitely within the day, possibly within hours. They must move their belongings and equipment to a new world, and they have very little time to do so."

Everyone at the table frowned. This was not good news.

"Okay, Teal'c, so fill me in. How'd the System Lords find them?"

Teal'c shook his head, replying, "That is unknown."

Jack frowned, before he murmured, "Okay, so are we talking about the spy here, or what? Do you think this is the one that Jolinar was trying to remember? It would make sense. She was afraid that they would attack, soon."

Daniel joined Jack, adding his frown to the one the others were wearing. Finally, he sighed, and gave his opinion, "I believe that it's definitely the work of a spy, and I think this is the same one. Furthermore, if that's the case, moving to another planet's not going to do them much good. He'll turn them in again."

Jack nodded and then turned to his Jaffa friend, to ask him, "Teal'c, you know those little pellet-ball things?"

After frowning at the vague description for a few moments, Teal'c finally came up with a suggestion, "Do you speak of the long-range visual communications device?"

"Right, that's it. How small do they make those things?"

"I have seen them small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, O'Neill. Why do you ask?"

"Cordesh has one in his room, and he had it in his hand earlier today. So, here's the plan. We help them to pack and evacuate the tunnels. That's a good will effort on our part to maybe help with friendly you guys do that, I'm going to try to track down Garshaw. Keep your eyes open, for Cordesh and Garshaw, just keep him under surveillance, if you can, but don't tell her about it. I'm the one that saw him with it, and I've got a feeling it may take a little persuasion to convince her that he's a traitor. After all, he's a Council Member and obviously trusted."

He glanced around the table. "Ready?"

At their nods, he stood, "Okay, then, let's move out."

* * *

General Hammond entered the room with Sam and Martouf behind him. Looking around, he issued an order, "Clear the room, people."

At the sound of his voice, Jacob turned from gazing out the window, and looked at him—and the other two people with him. As the last of the hospital staff left the room, he sighed, before reminding his friend, "I told you not to recall her, George."

"Happy to see you too, Dad." Sam answered his statement.

He looked at her, and then back at the General, who began to talk, "Well, Jake, you wanted me to tell you what Major Carter does, so I thought maybe she could tell you herself."

Looking skeptical, Jacob asked him, "Yeah? What happened to the classification?"

The General, his voice steady, told him, "It's still classified. But you just got clearance."

Not believing him, Jacob sighed and asked him, "Why?"

Sam took over and answered for him, saying, "Well, believe it or not, we need your help, Dad."

He laughed, and then coughed, exclaiming, "What? The Pentagon wants me to deliver a message to God when I get up there?"

Hammond responded, saying, "Not exactly, Jake."

"Well, I don't plan to see the other guy, and he doesn't do favors without a high price tag, anyway."

Deciding it was time to get to the real story; Sam quietly asked him, "Dad, have you ever heard of the Stargate program?"

He shook his head slightly, as he asked her, "No, is that one of your satellites?"

Sam cleared her voice, before admitting, "I don't work with satellites, Dad; that was just a cover."

Jacob almost snorted, and you could hear the sarcasm in his voice, "No kidding. I never would have guessed. So tell me, what do you do that's so great you don't want me to get you into the astronaut program?"

"Well, this is going to be a lot for you to take in all at once. It's a lot for anyone to take in…not that very many know about it."

Impatience getting the better or him, he almost snapped, "Stop beating around the bush; just tell me. What do you do?"

"I travel to other planets. Much farther away than any astronaut goes."

Jacob sighed, again, murmuring, "So you're not going to tell me the truth."

General Hammond stepped in and backed her up. "She '_is'_ telling you the truth, Jacob."

He looked at his old friend, saying, "She goes to other planets. What, like in simulations?"

Speaking bluntly, he answered him, "No. In reality."

Sam took over again, deciding to try to explain, "We discovered a piece of alien technology. It can send us to thousands of planets all over the galaxy."

Jacob Carter stared at his beautiful, intelligent daughter. Finally, he managed to comment, "You're not kidding, are you?"

"No." She paused for a moment, and then repeated herself more forcefully, "No, Dad, I'm not kidding."

He managed two words, "Holy Hannah!"

Sam turned and smiled at General Hammond, sharing her delight in being able to tell her dad what she was doing with her life.

Martouf, standing to the side of her, and leaning against the wall, where he could see all of their expressions, smiled at her father's exclamation and surprised look.

"_It is a good thing that she can tell him, at last. There is little doubt, but that she has wanted to do so, for a very long time." _

"_I agree, Lantash. I am glad we are here to witness her happiness." _

Suddenly remembering that Sam had told him they wanted his help, Jacob steadied himself, and asked, "So what do you want me to do?"

Sam cleared her voice again. "Well, we'd like you to travel to one of these planets with us."

Confused by her answer, he asked her, "Why? So I can die there?" That made no sense to him.

Swallowing her nervousness, and feeling the calming chemicals Jolinar released, she told him, "Well, no. Actually, I'm hoping what we want you to do will cure your cancer."

He turned a skeptical gaze on her and his friend. "They have a cure there? What's the catch?"

George Hammond didn't beat around the bush, either, telling him, "It's a doozy, Jacob, I won't lie to you on that." He paused for a moment, then added, "However, from what I've seen, it can be a very rewarding…partnership. But, I'll let the Major explain more about it."

"Partnership? What are you talking about, George?" Jacob looked thoroughly confused.

"Dad." Sam took over the conversation again, telling him, "What General Hammond is talking about is, well, it's…" She glanced over at Martouf, and at his nod of encouragement, she tried again, saying, "Dad, there are some aliens that we've met." When he started to speak, she held up her hand and stopped him, "Please, let me finish." He subsided, and she resumed her explanation, "This species has two very distinct factions. One of them is utterly evil; they are called the Goa'uld. They take humans as hosts and subjugate them completely. The human is never allowed the use of their body and their mind is suppressed. They also subjugate entire worlds and make slaves of the humans. Humans have been seeded all over and they are on many, many worlds. Anyway, the Goa'uld have set themselves up as Gods, and the people fear them, rightfully so. There's a good chance that they will someday attack Earth, again, and next time we might not be able to stop it. One of the reasons we're out there exploring now is to try to find allies and technology to defend us."

She paused, thinking, before continuing, "That's not what should concern you at the moment; although it will, if you agree to this. The other faction of this species, the Tok'Ra, are fighting against them, because they disagree with the way they treat the human host. They will only take or 'blend' with a human who is willing to share their body with them. The Goa'uld just _take_ humans, as I said."

"Why," Jacob asked, 'would anyone want to give their body to an alien? That is bizarre."

"No, Dad, it's not."

He looked astonished, before saying, "It's not?"

Sam shook her head. "No, it's not. The Tok'Ra share the human hosts body, that's true, but the human host gains a lot in return."

"Oh, yeah? Like what? It would have to be pretty impressive gains."

"Like a life of several hundred years duration. Like perfect health during those years. Like two thousand plus years of knowledge. Like unbelievable strength, increased hearing, speed, and eyesight. Like a partner and friend that is there, whenever you need them."

Jacob Carter stared at his daughter. "You're kidding, right? What's the catch?"

Sam smiled, rather sadly, telling him, "Am I kidding? No. The catch…well it is a doozy. You have to go to war for them against the Goa'uld. But war is something you do know about, Dad, and by fighting with them against the Goa'uld, you're also fighting to protect this planet."

Jacob looked dazed by all of the information. He shook his head slightly, muttering, "You're not kidding." He looked back at his friend, and asked him, "Is this something you would do, George?"

General Hammond sighed, "I was afraid you were going to ask me that, and to tell you the truth, Jake, I honestly don't know. I think that I very well might, depending on the circumstances. If I was in a no win situation…Yeah, I just might."

Jacob glanced over at the tall young man leaning against the wall and frowned. He had no idea why he was here, and everyone else had been told to leave. He turned to Sam, nodded to him, and asked, "Who is that and why is he here?"

"They are an ambassador for the Tok'Ra, Dad. We brought him, so that you could meet a Tok'Ra."

"He's…an alien?"

"Well, yes, sort of, that is. I mean, he's human outside and inside he's half alien and half human, if that makes sense to you."

"No, but…okay. Introduce me—I guess."

Sam smiled and turned to the man who was already walking their way. When he reached them, Sam held out her hand, and he took it with a smile. Sam turned to her dad, introducing them, "Dad, this is Martouf and Lantash of the Tok'Ra. Martouf is the host, the human, and Lantash is the symbiote, the Tok'Ra."

"Martouf, Lantash this is my father, Jacob Carter."

Martouf made a perfect bow, as he started speaking in his well-modulated voice, "Samantha has told us about you, Sir. It is an honor to meet you."

"I, ah, yeah, hello." It was Jacob's turn to clear his voice, before he asked, "So, Martouf, right?" At his nod, he continued, "So, you, um, you have an alien inside of you that is sharing your body."

"That is correct. Lantash and I share my physical body, and in return, I gain all of the things about which Samantha told you."

"Yeah, long life, perfect health…I guess I just have trouble seeing why someone as young as you would want to do this."

"General Carter, I am not young. I am one hundred and forty-four of your years. I blended with Lantash because the Goa'uld destroyed my world, my family, and my people. I was dying. Lantash was also dying. His host wished him to go to a new host. I wished to be able to fight against the Goa'uld. My wounds were not so bad that Lantash could not heal me, but his host's wounds were too massive for him to heal, and he would have died, no matter what Lantash did for him. We blended; I have never looked back, and have always enjoyed our bond. I suppose I was in a similar situation to your own. We were both going to die, unless we blended. You are rapidly dying, and so is Selmak, the symbiote with whom you would blend. You do not have time on your side, and neither does the Tok'Ra that needs a host. Now, you must make the decision of whether you wish to live on and fight…or die."

Sam was almost shocked at Martouf's words, but Jolinar calmed her, saying, _"He has forced your father to see how precarious his situation is. If he wishes to live, he has only one choice, and he must make it soon—or it will be too late. Martouf has only impressed those facts upon him." _

Sam sighed and leaned back some, relaxing her shoulder muscles. "_I know you're right, Jol. All we can do is wait to see what happens."_

* * *

The klaxons sounded as the blast doors opened to allow the General, Martouf, Lantash, Sam, and her father to enter into the room. The gate was dialing and the technician announced each chevron's status, as it stopped on it. "Chevron six locked."

Jacob looked at the huge ring, and asked Sam, "So, this is the alien thing you found?"

Sam grinned, answering, "Yup."

"Right. And, it sends you to other planets?"

The technician announced the last of the locks, "Chevron 7 locked." As the announcement was made, the gate flushed outward forming a wormhole.

Jacob was startled and jerked back. It was a good thing they had a light hold on his arms to steady him. His medication was making him just a little spacey and unsteady, but the doctors had insisted that they wouldn't allow him to leave without it, so to expedite matters Jacob had agreed. Of course, they also believed that he would be returning.

Sam grinned widely, at the look on her father's face. She couldn't contain her question, "How about that for a show, Dad?"

His eyes wide, he almost whispered his response, "Incredible!"

"Yes. It is, isn't it? Let's go, Dad," Sam's smile and voice softened, as she answered him, while leading him up the ramp,

As they approached the event horizon, Jacob continued to stare at it. When they stopped in front of it he asked them, "Does it— what does it feel like?"

"You've handled worse, Dad."

Martouf added his opinion, telling him, "It is not difficult, Sir, and it takes only seconds to reach your destination. You no more than enter it, and then you are exiting on the other end."

Jacob looked at the two of them and then back at the fluctuating blue pool. A determined look settled on his face, and he nodded to them, "Okay, then, let's do this." And they stepped into the Stargate.

* * *

They exited the gate on the other side, and Jacob looked back at the now empty ring. He switched his gaze to his daughter, and asked her, "You do that a lot?"

Sam nodded, and her answer was casual, "Yeah, usually once or twice a week. Of course, it depends on the length of the mission. If it takes more than four days, we only get to go once that week."

"It sure beats the hell out of a shuttle on the back of a rocket," Jacob asserted firmly.

Sam grinned at him, saying, "And it goes a lot further, too."

Then she turned her attention to Martouf, as they approached the ring transporter, but no one was stopping them. "You know, I was kind of expecting a little greeting party or something, Martouf."

"Lantash."

"What?" Even as she said it, she realized that he meant they had switched roles. "Okay. Got it."

Jacob was looking around and finally asked them, "You sure this is another planet? It looks like Earth."

Sam answered him, explaining, "Yeah, we figure the Stargate system was built specifically to transport humans, or something close to humans, in physiology. So, it seems to go mostly to places where the environment supports human life."

They reached the ring transporter and stopped. Jacob looked at Sam, but before he could ask, or she could explain, they were whisked into the tunnels.

* * *

As the rings dropped them into the tunnels, they were surprised at the extreme activity. Lantash recognized at once, what was occurring. "We are moving our base, Samantha. I suspect that we have been alerted to an attack, and from the amount of activity, I would expect it to begin soon."

Sam turned to him. "I should have stayed and tried to find that name."

"No," Lantash told her sharply. "Chances are that it would still have been too late. I am sure that the information was given long enough ago that it would have made little difference. Besides, you had no choice. This was too important to put off for something that was only a possibility, when this was a surety."

Sam nodded, but he could tell that she was still not happy.

In the chaos, Sam saw Colonel Makepeace, and got his attention, "What's going on, Sir?"

"They're expecting an attack. Since we're here to promote good will, we thought we'd help with the evac."

Sam nodded, asking, "Where's Colonel O'Neill?"

"He was looking for Garshaw and Cordesh the last I saw him." He lowered his voice drastically, breathing his words, "He's pretty sure he knows that they have an informant, and who it is. He's been trying to catch up with her to tell her, but every time he goes to where she's supposed to be, she's just left. So, he's still looking for her."

"Thanks, Colonel. If you see him, tell him that we have my father and are taking him to Selmak and Saroosh."

"Will do, Major." He turned and started directing his people again, as they turned away toward the area in which Selmak was.

They ran into Daniel and Teal'c moving a crate toward the ring transporter. "Daniel! What's going on? Has the Colonel caught up with Garshaw yet?"

"Not that I know of. He's still trying though."

"Who is it, Daniel?"

Leaning in close, he told her, "Jack thinks it may be Cordesh."

Sam stood frozen to the floor of the tunnel, as Daniel's words opened the floodgate of Jolinar's memories. Oh, yes, it was Cordesh. As the last forgotten piece fell into place, she turned back to Daniel, telling him, "Tell the Colonel that he can stop 'thinking' and start 'knowing'. There is no doubt at all. None."

"You've remembered."

Sam sounded grim. "All of it. Every piece."

"I'll tell him. Take care of your dad. He doesn't look too good."

Glancing over at her father, Sam could see that Daniel was right. He looked worse…pale and somewhat disoriented. She managed to get his attention, telling him, "Dad, this is Teal'c. Teal'c, this is my father."

"It is an honor," Teal'c told him as he grasped his arm in a Jaffa 'arm' shake.

All Jacob could do was nod to him. It was obvious that he was being overwhelmed by all of the new information that he needed to process. There was no doubt in his mind that the man he was just introduced to was an alien. But not a Tok'Ra. For some reason, he was sure of that.

* * *

Daniel found Jack picking up his equipment. He picked up his and Sam's equipment, before he turned to Jack, telling him, "Sam's here with her dad. When I told her what you suspect, she went very still, and when the memories stopped, she told me to tell you that you don't have to think you know the traitor; you're absolutely right about who it is."

They both turned, as Sam called out to them. "Colonel, did Daniel give you my message?"

O'Neill nodded. "I'm still trying to chase down Garshaw."

Sam nodded. "Good. You can be very firm about it, and you may have to be. She and Cordesh are very old friends. She won't want to believe you."

"Gotcha, Major. I'll be sure she understands the truth."

"Thanks, Colonel…from both of us."

Jack grinned at her. "You're both welcome. I take it your dad knows that…"

"Yes, Sir." She cut him off, telling him, "He understands what the Tok'Ra are, but he's only met Martouf and Lantash, so far."

"Right. Understood." Turning back to Daniel and Teal'c, he frowned. "What the hell are you staring at?" His question went unanswered, and he turned to look at what had them so mesmerized. Then he stood still and stared, too, as the tunnel continued to collapse toward them. Jacob, also, simply stared at it. Sam and Lantash, having seen it many times before—well, Jolinar had seen it many times, anyway—were not that impressed.

Suddenly, Teal'c spoke up; sounding almost awed, for him, he murmured, "Chel nak."

Daniel chuckled, telling them, "Direct translation: "very cool"."

Then they once more lapsed into staring mode. "Listen guys. Guys!" Sam raised her voice and finally got their attention. "Unless you want that tunnel to eat you, I suggest you leave—soon. We have to get going, too. See you all later."

Picking up the remainder of their weapons, Jack nodded, "Sure thing, Carter. Catch you later. Good to see you again, General."

"Uh, yeah, you too, Colonel," Jacob answered, but he still stared at the tunnel, as it continued to work its way toward them. Sam pulled on his arm, and he allowed her to pull him away. It was blatantly obvious that Jacob was overwhelmed with everything that was occurring. He was finding it harder to believe his own eyes, than he had expected it to be, but he assured himself that this was real. Very real, not a hallucination or a dream; it was all happening, and it was happening to him. There was just so much to process so quickly.

Jack turned to Daniel and Teal'c, asking them, "Have you had a report on where Garshaw might be by now?"

Daniel answered promptly, telling him, "Last I heard she was back in the council chamber again."

Jack sighed. He'd been there at least a dozen times already. He kept missing the woman by mere minutes. Straightening his shoulders, he plastered a cocky grin on his lips and, announced, "Okeydokey, boys, let's go. To the council chamber it is." Turning back once more, he raised his voice, so that Carter would hear him, as she was already down the tunnel a ways, "Call if you need us, Carter."

Sam nodded and waved, but didn't turn around. They needed to hurry. It was time to see if her dad would accept the life of a Tok'Ra, or if he would choose to die. They walked fairly slowly, for her dad's sake, toward what could very well be his new life.

Jacob mulled his own thoughts. They were taking him to be joined to an alien. Not just a human alien, but an alien species. Maybe the cancer had eaten his brain and he was insane. He glanced at the young, er, that is the man, walking beside him. He seemed normal, and he was hosting one of these alien creatures. In fact, as he glanced around, he realized that everyone here, except for the SGC personnel, were this, well, this race, called Tok'Ra."

As he studied them, he realized that they all seemed pretty normal. All were busy, living their lives, even if there was some other…okay, some alien species within them. Of course, the most important part to that thought wasn't so much the alien species. No, the most important part, the most important word, was living. They were all living…and that was something that soon, he wouldn't be doing. Not, that was, unless he accepted this chance at life. He thought that over some more. He was pretty sure he'd already made a decision, even though Martouf had suggested that he meet and get to know the alien first, and then decide. Well, he could do that, and then all he had to do was follow through on it. Yeah. Just follow through. He could do that…couldn't he? He could do that because…Living? Living was good. Dying? Not so much.

TBC


	24. Now, I Know I Like You Ch 24 AAOF

_**Chapter Twenty-four Summary: **Sam, Martouf, and Lantash return to the tunnels bringing Jacob Carter with them. While Jacob becomes acquainted with his future Lifemate, Jack is trying to find Garshaw to warn her that there's a traitor in her group of Tok'Ra. Jacob and Selmak blend, and Garshaw and Jack corner the traitor, as the System Lords begin their attack on the almost empty base. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

_**Kree - **Attention/Listen up/Stop/Yoo Hoo_

_**Tal shak - **Come on/Hurry up/Do it_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Twenty-four**_

_**Now, I Know I Like You**_

* * *

Daimesh looked up, as Sam, Jacob, and Martouf entered Selmak's chamber. After acknowledging their arrival, he turned to the two Tok'Ra that were helping to care for Selmak and Saroosh, indicating that they should leave, and saying, "You are probably needed to help with the evacuation. You may go."

They nodded in response and quickly left the room. Daimesh turned back to the three people standing there, commenting, "Martouf, you have returned." Turning toward the female, he added, "And you must be Samantha Carter. Your Colonel O'Neill informed me that you and Lantash returned to the Tau'ri world in search of a possible host for Selmak."

Sam nodded, replying, "Yes, I am, and this is my father, Jacob Carter."

Daimesh bowed deeply, and as he spoke to Jacob, he used the tones of the symbiote, so that he would definitely know that it was the symbiote speaking to him, "I am honored."

Nathan, Daimesh's host came forward, to tell him, "You have a very special daughter, Sir."

After a much-abbreviated nod toward the man, an obviously confused Jacob turned to Sam, asking, "Why does he talk like that? Why did his voice change?"

Sam glanced at Martouf, as she realized that Lantash hadn't used that tone to him. Looking back to her dad, she explained, "He's Tok'Ra, Dad. I told you about them. He's the same as Lantash and Martouf, but Lantash didn't use their distinctive tone of voice, at the hospital, in case someone might overhear him. It—it tends to carry more than a normal tone. They use it to indicate to the person they are talking to that it is the symbiote with which they're speaking." Sam left out the part, where in certain situations; they used it for intimidation purposes. He would find that part out in time.

Jacob shook his head, and she heard him grumble under his breath, "Damned drugs, foggy as hell." Raising his voice, he questioned her, asking, "Oh, so these are the aliens that you were telling me about? Like Martouf and…uh, Lantash, right?"

Sam frowned slightly, as she wondered again, how to answer that question. She didn't consider herself an alien, and yet, she was. Making her decision, she defined them, "Well, I don't know if I'd call them aliens, sort of half alien, I guess. I mean, the outside is human, and the inside is shared between a human and a symbiote. As I said, just as Martouf is actually two different…souls, I guess, sharing the same body. The soul remains intact; it doesn't change."

His voice rather flat, but still questioning, he raised his eyebrows, as he stated, "And, that's what you want me to become." He paused for a moment, and then told her, "You got to be kidding me." He shook his head, visions of himself as an old woman going through his head for some reason. He knew that wasn't right; he wouldn't change outwardly, but he couldn't seem to separate the two beings. It hit him hard. That's what he was contemplating—becoming two beings, and now that he was looking at it, he didn't know if he had enough courage for that. He turned to Sam, telling her, "Sam, I'm not sure I can do this. I mean, will I lose myself? Do they really like—share everything?"

Before anyone else could answer him, Sam looked at the others saying, "Excuse us, for a minute. Dad, come with me."

After taking him into the, thankfully, empty corridor, she turned her back to the room, and told him, "Um, listen Dad, there's someone else I think you should meet now."

He sounded incredulous, as he asked, "Now?"

After taking a deep calming breath, and getting some help from Jolinar, she answered, "Yes, Dad, now."

Sam lowered her head, and when she raised it, Jolinar spoke softly, "I am honored to meet you, General Carter. I am your daughter's symbiote, Jolinar, but please do not use my name. For security reasons, no one must know that I yet live."

Jacob Carter simply stared at her. He couldn't answer, and his mind had suddenly cleared…sort of. His daughter was one of them. All this time, he'd been talking to Sam and hadn't known that there was anyone else in there with her. Well, he guessed that answered his question about whether or not they really shared and whether you kept yourself. Hell, if his daughter had the guts to do it for…whatever reason she'd done it…surely he could do it, as well. Realizing that he had yet to answer Sam's—roommate, boarder, friend? He told her, "I, uh, I'm pleased to meet you...I guess. So, uh, you and Sam are, ah, together, um, and…I'm sorry, but I'm not sure how I feel right now. But I do know that I'm ready to rethink my, um, thinking," he cleared his throat, "about, um, not knowing if I could do this. I think."

Jolinar nodded her understanding, saying, "No one wishes to pressure you in any way, General Carter. The decision is yours, but before deciding, might I suggest that you—you take a moment to get to know the symbiote that wishes to blend with you."

He nodded, as he headed back toward the room, and Jolinar returned control to Sam, saying, _"Ah, that went well?" _

"_At least he's thinking about it. Probably figures that he can't let me out courage him," _she answered with a wry smile and a shake of her head. She knew her father very well.

Walking toward her, Jacob looked at the woman on the bed and, as Sam joined him, he asked, "This is her?"

She nodded. "Actually, you can only see the host. The symbiote's inside her like Lantash and Daimesh."

"Yeah, so you've said. Inside her. So, like Lantash, I can't see her."

A sudden thought hit Sam, and she followed the thought, saying, "Um, in case it concerns you, I think I should tell you that the symbiote is neither male nor female. They take on the characteristics of their host, so if you take Selmak, she will become he."

He looked at her with interest, asking, "Really?"

Sam knew she'd been right. One of the things bothering him was the thought of a female sharing his body. She encouraged him, "Really. Talk to her, Dad. Get to know her."

Saroosh's eyes opened and glowed, as she spoke to him, "If you agree to the blending, we could be together, for a very long time." She stopped speaking as she coughed.

Jacob watched her, and then told her, "You don't look so good."

Controlling her coughing, at least for the moment, Selmak's eyes roved over him, before she retorted, "You are no vision of beauty yourself, Sir!"

Jacob broke into a large smile and started to laugh, at her answer, but then, he began to cough. When Selmak joined him, her cough becoming raspy, Sam shared a look with Martouf and Daimesh. Time was running out—for both of them.

Jacob held up his hand, assuring them, "It's all right, sorry."

Taking control and speaking abruptly, Saroosh told him, "I am the one to whom you should be talking."

Missing the glow of her eyes, as he coughed, and forgetting the voice change difference, for a moment, he was confused, replying, "You are the one to whom I'm talking. Why, ah, why did your voice change like that?"

"Dad, that's the host talking now. Remember, I explained about Daimesh."

"Right, right, I remember that, now. Sorry."

"I am Saroosh. I am in the position to help you most," the host informed him firmly.

Jacob's brow furrowed, as he gave her his full attention, and asked, "How's that?"

Saroosh, her manner very matter of fact, described what would happen, "I will die, Selmak will live on, you will take my place as host." After a short pause, she continued, the love she held for her symbiote apparent in her voice, "Selmak is a wonderful Tok'Ra. She is selfless and caring; she is good company. She has a wonderful sense of humor."

Sam smiled at them, pointing out, "Well that's good Dad; you can sit around for hours cracking yourself up."

Not laughing at her remark, Jacob told her, "That's funny."

Saroosh smiled, as she assured him, "She is not far wrong. I have had almost two hundred years of laughter thanks to Selmak. I am biased, of course, but I believe that Selmak is among the best educated of the Tok'Ra. You will probably be overwhelmed by the knowledge and wisdom you will gain upon blending."

Jacob looked from Saroosh to Sam, as he asked, "So, I get all of this thing's, uh, 'what did you call it?', stuff that's in its head?"

"Symbiote."

Still thinking, Jacob finally answered, "Yeah. I get all its memories and stuff? You told me that already, right? And that's really what you meant?"

"Yeah, Dad, something like that."

Saroosh brought his attention back to her, when she spoke, "I will not deceive you, Sir. We have some pretty awful things buried in our memory."

"Such as?"

Saroosh sighed deeply, and she sounded melancholy, as she almost whispered, "There are memories of countless Goa'uld atrocities, the loss of each host that came before me, and you will feel the mourning for my loss."

He nodded his understanding, but said tightly, as if holding something in, "Will you excuse me, ma'am?" Jacob rushed out of the chamber and over to a small alcove, just making it before he threw up.

Alarmed by his sudden dash from the room, Sam swiftly followed him. "Dad? Is this too much for you?"

Jacob shook his head in denial, apologizing, and assuring her, "I'm sorry. I didn't want my future, um; I guess you could call her soul-mate, to see me like this."

Sam sighed, before telling him, softly, "Dad, you don't have to do this. They won't make you, and…"

Jacob broke into her statement with one of his own, "Yes, I do. My only other choice is death, and that's not acceptable, not yet, anyway. Look, don't worry, Sam, it's not just hearing all that stuff that made me lose my stomach; it's the chemo, and the trip through that damn Stargate thing. The drugs they gave me are finally wearing off, and I'm able to think more clearly now. I know what I want to do." He paused, and then a grin broke his across his face, "Besides, I can't let my daughter do something that I won't, now can I?"

Sam shook her head, and grinned back at him, murmuring, "I knew you'd say that!" The grin left, and in its place was a small smile. "It's okay, if some of it was from what's going on, and it upset you. This is a lot of weird information, for anyone to take in, all at once. Trust me, I know. But, Dad, I'm almost positive that, well, if you've decided to become Tok'Ra, to go ahead and blend with Selmak, that you won't regret it. In fact, I can't think of anything that would suit you any better…well, unless, it was working out of the SGC."

Knowing that his daughter wouldn't lie to him, he gave her a small smile in return. "Okay, then. Let's do this."

Sam stopped him, before he could turn to go back into the chamber. "It's Lifemate. That's what we call each other. Our lives are joined, and we're mates, in a very real sense of the word."

Jacob searched her eyes once more, and seeing her contentment with her 'Lifemate' shining from them, he nodded in acceptance, gave her a smile, turned, and reentered the chamber.

* * *

Jack, Daniel, and Teal'c made their way to the council chamber in silence. As they stepped into the chamber, Jack breathed in relief, "Finally. Thirteen's lucky, I guess." He grinned at his teammates, before turning to the Tok'Ra, as she stood at a crate and packed equipment. "Garshaw?"

She looked up, as she heard her name, and saw SG-1 striding toward her. "What can I do for you, Colonel O'Neill? We are almost completely packed and moved. We do appreciate your help, but we should be able to finish what remains."

The person that was working with Garshaw packed the last piece of equipment, for that crate, and walked away, much to Jack's relief. He brought his gaze back to Garshaw and decided that blunt was the way to go. "Garshaw, I think you might have a spy in your ranks."

Garshaw smiled and almost chuckled, as she told him, "Nonsense, the Tok'Ra are loyal for life!"

Teal'c looked at her and quirked an eyebrow, asking her, "How, then, were you located by the System Lords?"

Nonplussed for a moment, she gazed back and forth between them. "We have assumed that an off-world contact has chosen to turn to the Goa'uld, perhaps looking to garner rewards. Unfortunately, we have not been able to ascertain which of them it is."

Daniel answered briefly, but decisively, "It's none of them."

Garshaw was surprised at the tone of finality—and surety—in his reply. There was no doubt in his voice. Speaking slowly, as she still ruminated on their supposition, she said, "I suppose you know the name of the spy?"

The Colonel nodded, assuring her, "I wouldn't have said anything, if I didn't, so, yeah, I've got a pretty good idea of who it is."

"Who, then?"

"Well, I don't like to point fingers, but I will in this case. I'd keep my eye on Cordesh."

Disbelief showing on her face, Garshaw questioned him, "Cordesh? Why do you say that?"

O'Neill paused, before asking her, "Do you folks make a habit of walking around with those little teleball dealie…what are they again, Teal'c?"

Teal'c responded stoically, "He speaks of a long-range visual communications device."

Garshaw shook her head, in a pronounced manner. "We do not have those; we have no use for them. The system is not secure."

Jack nodded, apparently expecting her answer. "Well, your buddy Cordesh has one."

Garshaw stared at Jack, and he could literally see the rage build within her. He wasn't surprised to hear her demand, "_Tok'Ra kree! Tal shak, Cordesh, kree!_"

Deciding to follow them, Jack told Daniel and Teal'c, "Better stay here," before he ran after them.

Daniel and Teal'c looked at each other, before Daniel shrugged, muttering, "I guess we'll stay here."

Jack followed the Tok'Ra, caught up to them, and stopped, as they did, in front of a collapsing tunnel. He could see Cordesh standing in the middle of the tunnel and watching it, as it fell in on itself.

The guards trained their staff weapons on him, as Garshaw called out to him, "Cordesh!"

He turned to her, but said nothing.

"You must come with me and face questioning," she informed him firmly.

He answered her with what seemed to be nonsense, "I am not what I appear to be. Cordesh is no longer. I could not stop him."

Jack stood mute and attempted to signal to Cordesh, with his hands, the impending collapse of the tunnel behind him.

He ignored Jack, as he called out to Garshaw, "I am as guilty as he was."

Garshaw answered him, "You must leave the tunnel, and explain yourself, Cordesh."

He shook his head, and there was anguish in his voice, as he told her, "I do not deserve to remain among the Tok'Ra." The collapsing tunnel reached him, and he screamed, as it swallowed him.

Garshaw stood rooted to the floor, a look of horror on her face. O'Neill winced, muttering, "Ouch," before he herded the group away from the tunnel to safety. Garshaw followed his unspoken directions, as he took her elbow and guided her away from the scene, but her movement was robotic and automatic. She looked to him like she was very near to being in shock. He cleared his throat, telling her, "I'm sorry. I mean, he had to have been a friend of yours, and we don't know what turned him into a…well, anyway, we don't know what happened to him. For all we know, there may have been some—I don't know, maybe brainwashing, or something."

Garshaw blinked, as he finished talking. Looking up at him, she told him quietly, "You may be more right than you realize, Colonel O'Neill. He was captured and tortured for months, before he escaped. Perhaps…perhaps, he did not escape, but instead was sent back to us…changed."

O'Neill nodded. "Yeah, that sounds like it could very well be true, then. We can believe it in the face of a lack of any other information."

"Yes. Yes, unless we learn differently, we certainly can. Thank you, Colonel."

"No problem. Glad I could help; sorry that I was the bearer of the bad news, though."

She nodded, and then began striding down the tunnel. There was still packing and moving to be done. Not much, that was true, but some. She would busy herself with that, for now.

* * *

Jacob reentered the chamber and clapping his hands together, he rubbed them back and forth against one another, as he asked those in the room, "Okay…what do I have to do? No one's really told me how this happens." Exhausted from the chemo, the illness, and the presently occurring events, he sat down heavily, upon a bench next to the wall of the tunnel, and looked around expectantly.

Martouf answered, telling him, "First, Selmak would like to interview you."

Jacob looked at him in surprise, asking, "Huh? Wasn't that what we just did?"

Sam smiled to herself, as she answered him, "Not exactly, Dad. Saroosh told you about Selmak, but no one has told Selmak about you."

Selmak spoke up, "If I am to spend the next hundred and more years with you, as my host, do you not think I have the right to decide if I even like you?"

Jacob gave a bark of laughter, saying, "What's not to like? Just ask my daughter; I'm a teddy bear."

Sam murmured, "Oh yeah, real…teddy bear."

Despite his announcement, Selmak still had questions to ask him, "How do you feel about the Goa'uld?"

Jacob leaned back, resting against the wall, as he answered her, explaining, "Well, you're the first one I've met."

Selmak snapped out, "I am not a Goa'uld."

Jacob looked at Sam in confusion, asking, "Ah, trick question?"

Sam shook her head, as she replied, "No, it's not. Remember, Dad, I tried to explain the difference? Of course, you were drugged at the time, I suppose."

Jacob nodded, recalling her explaining something about them being the same, but different, sort of, anyway. Sighing, he responded, "Right, you're right, Sam, you did. Turning back to Selmak, he told her, "I apologize. I guess I've never met a Goa'uld before. Although, from what Sam and her people tell me, I don't think I like them much." He turned thoughtful. "At least," he muttered to himself, "Not that branch of the family tree."

Selmak indicated to Martouf and Daimesh that she would like to talk to him privately. As Daimesh turned to leave, she stopped him, saying, "Daimesh, you should go, now. Martouf and Lantash will be able to do anything that is needed."

Bowing his head in acknowledgment, he assured her, "Thank you, Selmak, although, I would gladly stay, if you wish it."

She gave him a brief smile. "No, go along. I am sure you have things yet to do."

After another brief nod, he stepped over to Sam and Martouf, telling them, "If you feel you need me, I am sure that I will be here for a short time yet."

Martouf nodded. "Thank you. Should the need arise before you leave for the new base, we will contact you."

With another brief farewell, Daimesh walked down the tunnel. Once he was gone, Sam turned to Martouf. Seeing the anxiety in her eyes, he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her, whispering, "We must hope for the best, Samantha. It is all we can do at the moment."

She gave him a hug, before turning to look into the chamber and watch them as they conversed. She didn't know what they were saying, but at least they were still talking. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against Martouf's chest, finding comfort in the feel of his arms around her, the steady beat of his heart, and the warmth he exuded.

Selmak looked into Jacob's eyes, as she questioned him, "Tell me, Sir, are you a good man?"

Jacob laughed a little, asking her, "You're kidding, right?"

Selmak shook her head. "No, I am not. If we do not survive our war with the Goa'uld, then we will be spending the remainder of our lives with one another. Should we survive our war with the Goa'uld, we will be spending the remainder of your lifetime with one another. Either way, we could be spending a very long time together."

Jacob sighed, before asserting, "You do have a point. But—look, forgive me for being blunt, but—you're dying, right?"

Selmak nodded. "My host is, yes."

"And you'll die with her, unless you and I, uh…what did you call it? Blend—is that right?"

"Yes, I will die with her; yes, the term is blend."

Jacob nodded, acknowledging and accepting both of her statements, before continuing, quietly, "And, I'll die too, unless we do this. So, I guess, my point is—good man or bad man—what difference does it really make? We don't seem to have much of a choice. And I don't mind telling you; the whole idea scares the hell outta me. So can we just get it over?"

"I have decided I like you."

"Super…and, Selmak, I'll answer your question, even if it doesn't matter in the end. I think I would fall on the good side of the spectrum. I have my faults. Probably a lot of them. But, I've tried to do what's right. I loved my wife and my kids; I never cheated on her. I paid my bills and didn't cheat on my taxes. I spent the majority of my adult life fighting for my country. I try not to lie, I don't steal, and except in the line of duty, I don't kill other…sentient beings. Does all that make me a good man? I'd like to think so."

Selmak smiled slightly, as she told him, "Now, I know I like you." Then she sighed, as she added, "But I must be sure that you understand that there will be no turning back for us. I cannot blend with you, cure your disease, and then leave you. To do so, would probably kill us both."

Jacob nodded his acceptance of what she told him, assuring her, "I understand. I guess I should have added 'I don't go back on my word' to my personal resume. I've said I'll do this, and that includes staying blended with you." He paused, before he added, "Let me ask you something, though. After we do this, will I still be able to talk to my daughter? I mean…as me?"

"The way Saroosh talked to you, yes. However, you and your daughter must understand that the blending may not work at all. I am very weak, and the damage to your body may be too extensive for me to heal."

After digesting her words, he said, "In other words, we might die anyway."

"Yes."

"I see. Then can you give me five with my kid?"

"Of course."

Turning to go into the tunnel and talk to Sam, he suddenly stopped. The man that he knew as Martouf and Lantash was holding her in a way that looked as if they knew each other very well. They were murmuring to one another and even sharing a small smile. Martouf or Lantash, he really wasn't sure which, leaned in and kissed her lightly. Maybe there was another reason that Sam brought him with her to the hospital. Well, he'd get to the bottom of that later. They heard him, as he began to walk toward them, and Sam's eyes glowed, as she looked at him. Hm. Maybe it was her—symbiote—that was involved with him, er, them? This could be complicated. He'd try to wrap his head around it later. Maybe Selmak could explain how that worked, because right now, he couldn't even begin to figure it out.

Realizing at once that Jacob wished to talk to his daughter alone, Lantash released her, cautioning him, "You must hurry, we do not have a lot of time." He nodded and returned to Selmak's side.

Jacob cleared his throat. Then looking at her, he said, "Listen Sam, I was never good at this stuff."

Sam shook her head, swallowed down her emotion, and told him, "Dad, you don't have to say anything."

It was Jacob's turn to deny her words with a shake of his head. "You got to know one thing—how proud I am of you. I'm not good at saying these things…and definitely not often enough. I should have told you before now."

Sam looked down, controlling her tears, before looking back at him. Her voice shaking, she assured him, "I think you just said it pretty well."

Finding that it hadn't been as hard to do as he thought, he continued, saying those things he'd wanted to say for so long, "Even when I thought you were this whiz satellite geek, I was proud. That's all I want to say."

"Please, Dad." She paused, then whispered, "I—I've always been proud to call you my father."

Jacob swallowed hard, biting back his emotions. "Hey, I know, I'm a pain in the ass." He laughed, adding, "Maybe this Tok'Ra lady will, uh, sand off some of the rough edges. It might be a good thing, right?"

"Well, I suppose it could be, but don't forget that the Tok'Ra lady will become a Tok'Ra guy, after she blends with you, so I wouldn't count on it." She paused, then added, "The longer we wait the less the chance is that it will be successful."

"Right." He and Sam turned back into the chamber. Looking to Lantash, for guidance, he asked, "Okay, what do I do?"

* * *

Garshaw was still brooding over Cordesh's betrayal. "Cordesh must be guilty of something, or his host would not have said that he did not deserve to be Tok'Ra. Nor would he have allowed himself to be buried in the tunnel in that way."

O'Neill looked askance at her, questioning, "What, he had a choice?"

Garshaw didn't answer that statement, probably considering it to be rhetorical. Turning to him, she once more told him, "I must thank you. You may have saved the Tok'Ra a great many losses."

O'Neill shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "Well, like I said before, you're welcome."

Garshaw sighed, as she told him, "However, I am still unsure what the Council will decide. Unfortunately, several of them feel that what you have to offer would not be worth the risks involved."

Jack yelped, "What?"

She sighed again, telling him, "I disagree, but I am only one." She paused before lowering her voice and adding, "I will tell you that I do not plan to give up on changing their minds. In the meantime, we must hope that we do not kill one another by mistake."

Jack opened his mouth to say something, that Daniel was sure should not yet be said. He looked at him and shook his head, saying "Jack. Not now. She can't do more than try, and I think that Martouf and Lantash won't allow this to drop, either. If that's all we can do at the moment, then that's all we can do. We may find something in the future that may change everyone's mind. We have some people on Earth that aren't too sure they want us to become friendly either, so we have our own work cut out for us. Let's just leave it for now. Okay?"

Calming under Daniel's barrage of words, he agreed, albeit grumpily, "I suppose you're right. We'll have Jacob, too. I doubt he'll be willing to give up contact with Major Carter, so there'll be some contact between us regardless who wants what."

Garshaw gave his words some thought. "You may be correct, Colonel. Perhaps we must simply await events."

* * *

Following Lantash's instructions, Jacob laid down next to Saroosh and rolled onto his side, so that he was facing her, and she was facing him.

Lantash explained to him, "We do not enter our hosts through the back of the neck as the Goa'uld do. Doing so leaves a scar that many of us find unsettling.

We believe that the Goa'uld use that method because they do not wish to remember the horror of their host's face, whenever they see their own reflection in the mirror. We must step back, Samantha." Lantash no longer saw any point in calling her Major, since her father was now aware that there was a relationship between them.

Looking up at Sam, Jacob gave her a brief smile, before telling her, "Goodbye, kid." He then turned to look at Lantash, saying, "You take damn good care of her."

Sam and Lantash both smiled at him, but it was Lantash who answered, saying, "We will love her for as long as we remain living, I assure you, Jacob."

"You'd better," he growled.

Sam shook her head, as she stroked his, murmuring, "See you soon, Dad."

It was Selmak's turn to look at them. She smiled slightly, too, telling them, "I am pleased for all of us, Lantash, but mostly for you. Jolinar, take care of them all, if I do not survive."

Jolinar came fore and assured her, "I will do so, Selmak. I will be taking my council seat and staying with the Tau'ri. I will care for all of them to the best of my ability."

"That is all that I can ask and more. Welcome to the Council. It is another incentive for which to live, for I look forward to seeing their faces, when they realize that you are now a permanent thorn in their sides, instead of one that only occasionally pricks them." She laughed gently, adding. "Saroosh wishes you to know that she is very happy for you and could not be happier that you returned to us."

"Thank you. Saroosh, I shall miss you very much. Wherever your next path leads, may it give you joy." Jolinar turned, leaving the room and after one last glance, at the two on the platform, Lantash turned and followed her.

Selmak and Jacob were looking at one another as he left the room. Jacob cleared his throat and asked her, "Now what?"

A glint of laughter showed for a moment in Selmak's eyes, as she told him, "Kiss me."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, Jacob, I am not."

"Well, okay, I guess I'm game." Jacob leaned in and opened his mouth. The symbiote appeared, for only a moment, as it leaped out of Saroosh's mouth and into his. Jacob gagged for a short time and then his face cleared. His eyes glowed and Selmak looked over at Saroosh. As she died, he told her, "Good-bye, dear friend. I shall miss you."

Rolling them over onto their back, Selmak allowed them to sink into unconsciousness, as he began the battle to save their lives.

Seeing him roll over, Sam and Lantash entered the chamber. Martouf came fore and covered Saroosh's face, as Sam took her father's pulse. "He's alive."

Martouf joined her and lifted one of Jacob's eyelids, as he checked his eyes.

Looking anxious, she asked him, "Is he okay?"

Martouf hesitated, then told her, "As you said, he—they—are alive; however, your father is very sick, and Selmak is quite weak. He may not have the strength to heal him. He will do everything he can to do so, though, Samantha, so do not despair. Selmak will fight for both of them, I promise you."

Sam looked down at them. "Well, is there anything we can do to help?"

Martouf shook his head. "Nothing. Only time will tell. I doubt that even a healing device would help, at this time."

Sam and Martouf both looked up, as a Tok'Ra guard rushed into the room. "Our scouts have spotted the Goa'uld ships dropping from hyperspace." Sam approached him, as he continued, "They will start attacking from the air and through the Gate within hours. Garshaw orders that we must destroy the complex."

Sam turned to Martouf, asking, "Can we move them?"

Martouf shook his head. "I am afraid that if we do so, it will kill them."

Sam moved to her father's side and stroked his head.

* * *

The remaining Tok'Ra continued to hurry, as they attempted to move the final pieces of equipment. SG-1 and Garshaw walked through the remaining tunnels checking to see if anything was being missed. As they entered the last main tunnel, there were many more Tok'Ra milling around. A woman carrying a very familiar looking small silver box noticed O'Neill watching her and attempted to hurry down the hall.

O'Neill raised his voice, saying, "Excuse me." As she began to run, he chased her and grabbed her by the arm. She glared at him and jerked angrily on her arm attempting to break free of his grasp.

Seeing what he was doing, Garshaw followed him, gasping, "What are you doing?"

O'Neill barely glanced at her, as he kept his gaze on the woman he was keeping from leaving. "I'll apologize, if I'm wrong." Taking the box from her, he opened it. It contained a small Goa'uld long-range communications device. The woman continued to glare at him, as Daniel, Teal'c, and some Tok'Ra guards approached them.

Jack held the orb out to show Garshaw, saying, "Cordesh had one of these." He held it out to her, and she slowly took it from him.

She looked at it with sadness, as she said, "So there were two spies."

Jack looked back at the woman, as he murmured, "Or not. Cordesh said he wasn't who he appeared to be."

Standing next to him, Teal'c commented, "Goa'uld can jump hosts to hide, as we know."

Garshaw looked at the woman, as she asked, "Cordesh?"

Almost spitting in anger, the woman threw her words at them, "The plague that is the Tok'Ra will soon be wiped out!"

Garshaw answered the angry Tok'Ra quickly, "I am sickened to think I once called you my friend, Cordesh, but I want you to know—the System Lords will fall, but you will not be alive to see it."

Turning to the Tok'Ra guards, she issued her orders, "Attempt to remove Cordesh from the host without harming her. Then put this traitor in one of the vanishing tunnels."

As the guards took her away, Garshaw turned to Jack, and reaching up, she kissed him on both cheeks, before telling him, "I believe I shall be proud to call you friend."

As she walked away, O'Neill stood still, too stupefied to move or comment. He cleared his throat, and looked away from the amused looks he was getting from his teammates.

* * *

Sam stood beside the platform holding her father's hand in hers. Martouf sat behind her reaching up, every so often, to rub her back, before he stood and wrapped his arms around her giving her their silent support.

Hearing footsteps approaching, he stood and moved back from Samantha. She sent him a look of thanks, as the people coming neared the door. If it was someone that didn't know about Jolinar, and chances were good that it was, then she didn't feel like trying to explain away, Martouf's sudden interest in her and she was sure that he probably didn't either.

As she entered the room, Yosuf, called out, "Martouf!"

He turned to her, stepping even farther away from where he stood by Sam.

She continued, talking rapidly, telling them, "All of the tunnels, except for this one, and the escape tunnel have vanished. All of the other Tok'Ra have gone to the new homeworld. We must go now."

Sam stared at her, not quite believing what she was hearing. "But what about my father?"

"When and if he awakens, Selmak knows where we'll be. He can follow us then."

Looking almost as shocked as Sam did, Daniel pointed out, "But the Goa'uld are coming; they'll capture him."

"If he is captured, he will die before he will reveal our whereabouts," Yosuf assured them firmly.

Sam wasn't ready to go along with that scenario, and she told her, "Then take him with you."

Standing beside Yosuf, O'Neill growled at her, "Or we'll take him with us."

Martouf shook his head. "No. I am afraid that if we transport him now, he will die. He needs to remain stationary, until Selmak completes his repairs."

Sam turned to him, exclaiming, "We can't just leave him here!"

He gave her a tender look that only she could see, before assuring her, "I will remain with him, Samantha. If I can get him out, I will; if I cannot, I will allow the vanishing tunnels to consume us, before the Goa'uld get here. He will not end up a prisoner of the Goa'uld, I promise you."

Yosuf's eyes glowed and Garshaw came forward, insisting, "I cannot allow you to die in this way. We must leave now."

Sam's lips tightened along with her jaw. Her teammates knew this as her stubborn look. "I'll stay."

"I cannot allow you to stay, Major Carter. We must all go now."

Sighing under his breath, and knowing he was probably wasting it, Colonel O'Neill told her, "She's right, Major. We have to go."

Gazing back at her commanding officer, she told him quietly, "With respect, no, Sir. I am not leaving my father here alone."

Realizing that standing firm against them was the only way they would convince them, Martouf suggested, "Samantha Carter and I will both remain. I will assure that we will not be taken by the Goa'uld."

Still looking at the Colonel, Sam told him, "I'm sorry, Sir. Please understand. I need to be here with him. I can't leave him now."

Jack O'Neill stared back into his Major's eyes. Seeing the determination shining there, he turned to the remainder of their team, saying, "Right. Daniel? Teal'c? Let's go."

Garshaw looked at Martouf and his eyes glowed, as Lantash came fore. "We will not leave them here, Garshaw. Go with the Colonel, and we will join you on Earth, as soon as we possibly can. I assure you that we will not be taken by the Goa'uld."

Finally giving in, she nodded sharply, and turned to O'Neill. "I am ready to leave."

Nodding their farewells, they all turned and quickly left the tunnels.

* * *

Reaching the surface, they raced toward the Stargate. Yosuf came fore, telling them, "We do not have very much time before the Goa'uld come through the Gate and block it. As soon as they feel enough damage has been done to us, they will send in Jaffa. We must dial out quickly."

Daniel nodded, as he told her, "We can take you to Earth, and then send you to your new home from there."

Jack waited a moment or two, and when Daniel didn't move toward the DHD, he told him, "Daniel, start dialing home."

Teal'c was watching the sky. Soon they would begin the bombardment of the surface. Until then, it was unlikely that any Jaffa would come through.

Daniel looked at Jack in surprise, and pointing back toward the tunnels, he asked him, "Shouldn't we wait for everyone else, Jack?"

Teal'c took that same moment to announce the approach of some death gliders. "O'Neill, there are approximately nine gliders heading for us, at this moment."

"Dial, Daniel. Now. We don't have time to wait. Go!"

Glancing at the sky for only a second, Daniel turned, rushed to the DHD, and began dialing. The gliders were closing in on their position, and they would begin firing at them soon. As the Stargate activated, he saw Yosuf step toward the event horizon, and he yelled at her, "No! Wait for my word!"

His command was so shocking to her that she halted in place and stared at him. As she watched him do something on his wrist, she realized that neither O'Neill nor Teal'c had stepped toward the Chaappa'ai, when it activated. Garshaw took control, not knowing what to expect next.

It seemed like hours passed, while Daniel continued to hold his wrist in front of him, but in reality, it was mere seconds. Suddenly she heard him yell, "Go, go!" O'Neill grabbed her wrist and pulled her with him, into the fluctuating blue pool, as the gliders started to fire on them and explosions spit sand in the air all around them. Then they knew nothing more of what was behind them, as they hit the ramp in the SGC. For the first time, Garshaw and Yosuf voluntarily entered a military base belonging to a people of which they had very little knowledge. _"Do you believe that we will become prisoners, Garshaw?"_ Yosuf sounded concerned, as she felt Garshaw's unease.

Before her Lifemate could answer her question, General Hammond approached them, saying, "I'm General Hammond. Welcome to the SGC. Won't you please come this way? I must hope that Major Carter, Martouf, Lantash, and Jacob will be returning shortly? If so, you are not standing in a safe area."

Bowing her head in response to his greeting, she stepped forward and walked with him away from the ramp on which they had been standing. _ "I cannot say for sure, Yosuf; however, I do not feel any threat or dishonesty from this man." _Her attention was brought back from her internal conversation, as she heard Colonel O'Neill telling his superior, "General, this lady is Garshaw of Belote and her host's name is Yosuf."

Bowing her head again, she finally answered his greeting, "It is a pleasure to meet you, General Hammond."

"As it is to meet you and your host. Can you tell me where the Major and the others are?"

Colonel O'Neill started to speak up, but Garshaw beat him to it, saying, "Our base is under attack by the Goa'uld System Lords, even as we speak. Our Selmak and your Jacob Carter are blending; however, Jacob Carter was quite ill, and Selmak had been sustaining his host, Saroosh, for quite some time. The combination of those two things makes the outcome of the blending unknown. Both are very weak. They are unconscious, and they will remain so, until Selmak has completed his repairs to Jacob Carter's body. Until they awaken, they cannot be moved. To attempt to do so would, in all likelihood, kill both of them. Major Carter refused to leave her father, and Martouf and Lantash chose to remain behind with them, as well. They will ensure that, if the Goa'uld should find the tunnels, none of them will be taken prisoner."

General Hammond stared at her for moment, before commenting, "You mean that he will see to it that they are all dead, rather than allow themselves to be taken prisoner." He frowned. "Why would they do that? We would attempt to rescue them, and Major Carter and Jacob know that."

"And if you cannot do so, General Hammond? Tok'Ra are not simply tortured to death. Neither would Samantha Carter be allowed to die, at least not right away. It is possible that they would all be tortured to death, perhaps, endlessly; although, perhaps, Major Carter would eventually be allowed to die, as I said. The Tok'Ra, however, would not, in all probability, be given that way out. They would be tortured, until they gave them the information, or they became insane. Since our operatives do not give up information, insanity is their destiny, unless the System Lord becomes bored and simply leaves them to die in their cell, which is often the best outcome for which one can hope. I do not believe you would wish to take the chance of that happening to them, or to Major Carter."

After a quick look at Colonel O'Neill to verify that Garshaw did not know that Jolinar was alive, he answered her, saying, "No, you're correct; we wouldn't want that to happen to them.

* * *

Sam sat down next to her father and took his hand in hers again. The bombardment had just started. She hoped that her team and Garshaw got through the Chaappa'ai, before it started. Watching her dad, she murmured, "I hope I've done the right thing bringing him here."

Martouf stepped up to stand behind her once again. As he put his arms around her, he reminded her, "The alternative was no better, Samantha."

Sam sighed. "True."

They remained that way for a few more minutes, and then both of them leaned forward, as they noticed that Jacob was beginning to awaken. Sam studied him carefully, and he finally released a very mumbled, "Ah."

She jumped to her feet and stood next to him, saying, "Dad?"

His eyes opened and Selmak, questioned, "Lantash? Martouf?"

Martouf smiled and then Lantash came fore, responding, "We are here, Selmak."

A series of explosions from above them, made Selmak look upwards and suggest, "Should we not make our escape?"

Smiling at him, Lantash, agreed, "Yes, we should."

Sam stood her ground, asking, "Is my dad, okay, Selmak?"

His eyes glowed and Jacob answered her, "Yeah, I'm okay, Sammy. Oh, man, talk about your hangover."

"Are you sure you're okay, Dad? How do you feel?"

"I feel awful. I've got a headache the size of Kuwait. There's too much stuff in here." He held his head for a moment and then got off the platform. Suddenly smiling, he bounced slightly and swung his hands around, exclaiming, "Whoa!"

Somewhat alarmed, Sam quickly asked, "What? What's wrong?"

Jacob laughed excitedly, "No more arthritis. Holy Hannah! No more arthritis!"

They all looked up as more explosions were heard above them, and Lantash reminded them, "We should leave and make our way to the surface, as soon as possible. Selmak take Samantha to the ring transporter. I must begin the collapse of the remaining tunnels."

Jacob turned to Sam, telling her, "I know the way. Let's go. Stop worrying about Lantash; he knows how to do this, as you very well know. Jolinar has to be reassuring you."

Sam grinned at him, as they started down the hall, with her in the lead, instead of her dad. "Jol knows the way, too, dad, and it's not like we can get lost in two tunnels. And, yes. She told me, but I can still worry about them."

Jacob shook his head, as he kept pace with her. Skidding to a stop at the rings, they waited for Lantash to join them. "You know. You could have told me that you four were mates. I know I wouldn't have understood until now, but at least I would have known."

"Yeah, I suppose I could have, but it just seemed too complicated to explain it, when I knew that Selmak could just show you, and you'd understand it right away. Besides that, I felt that I was already throwing too much information at you at one time. I didn't think that you needed extraneous stuff on top of it."

"Yeah, I guess that's true; I was pretty overwhelmed. I like them, Sam. I'm happy for you."

Smiling slightly, she murmured, "Thanks, Dad. I'm glad."

Lantash ran toward them, as the tunnel collapsed behind him. Skidding to a stop, he activated the ring transporter, and they were deposited above ground.

The three of them ran toward the Gate, and Sam raced on toward the DHD, yelling over her shoulder to Lantash and her dad, "We'll go to Earth." Just as she reached the DHD, the first chevron lit up.

"The Jaffa are attempting to come through the gate," Lantash warned her, from where he and Jacob stood a safe distance away from the event horizon's initial formation.

"They can't come through, if I dial out first!" She muttered, as she dialed as quickly as she could, all the while explaining to Selmak, "I have to send a code, before we can enter the event horizon. Wait until I tell you to go." She punched in the last chevron and the gate opened. Even as she was punching in their access code, she was asking, "Did we open the Gate, or did they?"

Gliders flew over them, sending the sand flying, as their shots landed all around them.

"We have no choice, but to go!" Selmak yelled at her, but Lantash, trusting Samantha's statements, held him back.

"No! Wait until I tell you!" Her confirmation from the SGC, telling her that they were the ones that dialed first, as well as, giving her the okay to proceed, came almost immediately, and she screamed at them, "Go! Go!", even as she ran toward the event horizon herself. They met in front of it and dived in together.

TBC


	25. Leap of Faith Ch 25 AAOF

_**Chapter Twenty-five Summary: **Sam, Jolinar, Lantash, Martouf, Jacob, and Selmak arrive at the SGC safely. It is decided that there should be certain actions taken right away, and Martouf and Lantash are sent to put them into action. They decide to send Malek for Per'sus, so that Jolinar will only have to tell her story once. Jolinar announces her intention to remain with the Tau'ri…and to join the High Council. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13 _

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Twenty-five**_

_**Leap of Faith**_

* * *

The klaxons went off, and General Hammond and the remainder of the people in the gate room watched the gate. He glanced up at the technician again, and this time he was rewarded, as he saw her lean forward to tell him, "There's their signal."

"Open the iris," his command came immediately, but the iris was already opening. The tech hadn't waited for the order, knowing it would come. If the planet was under attack, every second could count.

Sam, Jacob, and Lantash fell through the gate and landed on the ramp. As soon as they were standing, they walked down the ramp and towards SG-1, General Hammond, and Garshaw. As they neared the group awaiting them, Jacob gave control to Selmak, and they approached General Hammond. Addressing him, he said, "I must give you thanks. You have saved my life, and that of my new host; we thank you."

Garshaw smiled and her relief showed through her normally stoic expression. "This is wonderful news, Selmak."

George Hammond answered him, easily, saying, "Welcome to Earth. I wish it was under more auspicious circumstances. As for sending Jacob to you, you're welcome, although it was a decision that Major Carter made that allowed it to happen, and Jacob's decision to do it. Can we talk to your host?"

Selmak smiled, as he bowed his head and gave control to Jacob. As he raised his head, Jacob cleared his throat, and looked around sheepishly. Before, the General could ask him anything, he said, "So, when the little fella inside me is talking, do I sound like him?"

Teal'c answered him, affirming his suspicions, "That is correct."

"It's strange. When he's speaking, I can feel myself talking, but it's not me saying the words. You know?"

Colonel O'Neill shook his head in denial, saying, "Don't know, but I'll take your word for it."

Daniel was the one that asked what he felt was the most pertinent question, "How do you feel?"

Jacob laughed a little, telling them, "Well, considering I've got one of those things, er, symbiotes, inside me, I feel pretty damn good!"

Teal'c looked at him closely, and his approval was plain upon his face, for all to read.

Jacob put his arm around Hammond's shoulders, saying, "Listen, George. Because of this blending thing, I already know everything there is to know about the Tok'Ra. You made the right decision, when you took that leap of faith. You made the right call. They're everything Sam, Lantash, and Martouf said they were."

O'Neill, Daniel, Lantash, Carter, and even Teal'c were smiling at him, as he told them that.

Hammond smiled at him, as well, as he told him, "I sincerely hope so, Jacob."

"I would be proud to serve as liaison between the Earth and these people." He paused, for a moment, and then looked over at Sam, Jolinar, Martouf, and Lantash, adding, "Of course, there may be more than enough of us for that."

Garshaw looked at him in confusion, but before she could question his remarks, General Hammond, answered him, saying, "Good. Well, on that note, perhaps, you can ask them to come with me to do a little debriefing."

Garshaw immediately vetoed that. "I am afraid we cannot. We must go."

Teal'c assured her, "You are safe here."

"Yes, I agree with you, Teal'c; however, because of the spy, the Goa'uld may already be on their way to the site to which the Tok'Ra have moved. We must go quickly and stop our people from making any more tunnels. We must move the Tok'Ra to yet another new home."

Selmak took control and turned to Lantash, telling him, "Lantash, go stop the tunnels, order the ones made destroyed, and tell Aldwin to begin the move to the next planet on our list. Tell him to send Daimesh and Markesh to the new world and take over organization there. Return here and bring Malek with you." He frowned. "I am not sure now is the time to contact Per'sus, although, perhaps we should discuss doing so. I assume that is what you were planning, since it seems the most logical way to achieve your purposes, which again, I believe I know, but I would like to have confirmation of it."

Lantash nodded, and then turned to the General, telling him, "I must use your dialing device."

Hammond nodded. "Of course, Lantash. You know where it is, so go ahead." Then he turned to Daniel, asking him, "Would you get a GDO for him and show him how it works, Dr. Jackson? He'll need it to return."

"Of course, General. Lantash, come with me, and I'll show you what you need to know."

As the two men walked away, Garshaw finally found her voice. "Selmak, what is the meaning of this?"

Selmak sighed, before turning back to her. "It is my belief that there are several things that must be discussed without more delay. The others can handle the move to the new home world. Considering everything that they have done for us this day, I believe it is only right that we accede to the General's request to be debriefed. We should also find out what it is that Samantha, Lantash, and Martouf know, but which they could not tell us before because of the spy."

Garshaw stared at him yet again, as her very sharp mind mulled his words. She was perturbed by several of them. Lantash, Martouf, and spy, along with 'could not tell us' were the ones she found the most unnerving. Finally, she asked him, "Selmak, are you suggesting that Major Carter, Lantash, and Martouf somehow knew about the spy…and did nothing to prevent his attack?"

Selmak shook his head, answering, "Not exactly. Did they know that there was a spy? Yes, I believe they did. Did they know who it was? No, I do not believe that they did and, in fact, I believe that their appearance at the tunnels was their effort to try to find out who it was, so that they _could_ warn us. Unfortunately, I believe that he may have become suspicious of them, contacted his overlord, and then passed the coordinates for our world on to him. But, until we can all sit down together, we will not know for sure. I believe that we should wait, until everyone is present."

"They believe that the information given to Major Carter would have told them who it was."

"In a way, yes. Lantash will return soon; let us wait for him to discuss it."

"_Should we just go ahead and tell her that you are alive, Jolinar? It might be helpful. We can still wait to explain, until Martouf and Lantash return. What do you think?" _

Jolinar sighed. _"Yes, I suppose there is little point in concealing it from her any longer. It will only make her more upset, if we continue to withhold the information of my survival from her." _

"_Okay. I'll let Selmak know that you're going to take control." _

"_Yes, go ahead." _

"Selmak. It's okay. I think we can go ahead now, with at least one bit of information that Garshaw would have already had, if circumstances had given us an opportunity to tell her. While we wait on them to return, it gives us our opportunity. After all, the danger of the spy trying to kill us is over now."

Selmak gave her a small smile, agreeing, "That is true, Samantha, and if you believe that you are now safe to do so, then by all means, make your announcement."

Sam smiled wryly, at his choice of words, and dropped her head. As her eyes glowed, and Jolinar raised her head, she heard Garshaw gasp.

Jolinar bowed her head in greeting, before saying, "A great deal has occurred, my friend. It is a rather long and dismal story, so rather than have to repeat the entire thing again; I shall simply tell you that Rosha died several months ago. There was a reason for our subterfuge, as you know. As soon as Lantash returns with Malek, we can retire to the briefing room, and give you the pertinent information."

Garshaw gazed at her, for quite some time before stating quietly, "We believed that you and Rosha were both killed. For a long time, we could find out nothing about either of you. Word finally came that an Ashrak sent by Cronus killed you both. We declared you both deceased over six months ago."

"Yes, my mates have told us. I assume that Lantash told you that they have been here on Earth for several days. For the last two of those days we have been here together, so we caught up on many things. Prior to those two days, my Sam and I were quite busy, and Martouf and Lantash became prisoners of the Tau'ri, until we, ah, procured their release…but that story, too, can wait."

"Yes. It seems that there is a great deal going on about which we knew nothing. I would appreciate an answer to one question, now, though."

"I will attempt to answer it for you."

"If you knew there was a traitor, why did you not tell us?"

"Because, although, I did not know who it was, I felt strongly that it was a council member. There were those who I knew it definitely was not, however there were too many left to be able to pinpoint the one it was. I lost parts of my memory from the Ashrak's attack on Samantha and I. We almost died, and I lost several rather important memories," she smiled, "not the least of which was Martouf, Lantash, and our relationship."

Garshaw's eyes widened. "Oh. That must have been…trying."

Jolinar laughed aloud. "Yes, I believe that you could say that it was, at the very least, trying."

"We came to the tunnels to try to see, if I could recall the spy's name, and I am very glad and thankful that Colonel O'Neill found him for us, for we did not appear to be making any progress." She sighed rather sadly, adding, "I do not suppose we will ever know why I could not remember that it was Cordesh, although Samantha believes that it could be that the pain of his betrayal of me was so deep that I buried what he did. Why I forgot other things though, we have no idea, for many of the things I did not remember were innocuous things that had no emotional value whatsoever. Why I forgot Lantash and Martouf is also a mystery. We did recognize him as someone we knew, though, and the longer we were around them, the more memories of them returned. Still, they had to tell us that they were our mates."

Garshaw nodded, "Yes, I, too, am very grateful to the Colonel for recognizing that we had a traitor and that contrary to what we believed; it was not a contact, but one of our own. We still do not know what happened to cause Cordesh to turn in that way, although the Colonel suggested the torture and brainwashing he endured many months ago, as possible causes. I believe that perhaps he is close to the reality of what occurred. He would never have betrayed you Jolinar. He has been your right hand from the time of the wars with Egeria. He followed you faithfully for over two thousand years. Something caused his turn to traitor. I cannot believe that it was done purposely with full knowledge of what he was doing. Not with the loyalty, he felt to you and the Tok'Ra. Still, he did turn traitor, even if it is very possible that it was induced by the Goa'uld, and that betrayal may very well be why you could not, or perhaps would not, remember the name of the traitor."

"Yes, as I said that is what my Sam believes, and I must admit that it seems logical. That is no longer pertinent. As I was saying, we had hoped to stop him, but it is possible that, as Selmak suggested, we alerted him instead. I suppose we should not have told anyone that, my Sam and I were blended, for a short time. Although, I felt that Samantha was very believable, when she told him that she had none of my memories...and" she gave a small smile, "in the case of the traitor, she was not lying, for neither of us had that memory."

As the two women both lapsed into a somewhat brooding silence, the General asked them, "Would you like to go up to the briefing room? You can sit comfortably there, while we wait for Lantash and Martouf to return."

"That would be very pleasant, General Hammond, thank you for suggesting it," Jolinar gave him a brief smile, as she agreed.

He returned it, suggesting, "You know where it is Jolinar, why don't you take Selmak and Garshaw on up there, and make yourselves comfortable. We'll join you, as soon as Malek and Lantash return, if not before then."

"I think that is an excellent idea, General, especially, since Samantha would like some coffee. She is going into withdrawal, for she has not had any since this morning."

The General chuckled, and then, still smiling, he headed for the control room, while Jolinar turned to Selmak and Garshaw, telling them, "It is this way. Just follow me. The sooner we get to her coffee the happier my Sam will be."

Garshaw's glance flew to Jolinar, as she asked her, "Your host is addicted to some substance? Why are you encouraging her?"

Jolinar smiled at Garshaw, as she shook her head. "It is all right. It is a Tau'ri beverage of which she is very fond. Unfortunately, both Martouf and Lantash find it very good, too, so I am overruled on its palatability. I am the only hold out, as I find it just this side of tolerable, an improvement over my first reaction, when I accused her of attempting to poison us."

Garshaw sent her a sardonic look, before she commented, "I must presume that it is one of those things that one either immediately likes immensely, or finds to be unbelievably vile, in which case, it becomes a matter of acquiring a taste for it, if your host is, ah, _addicted_ to it."

"Yes, and hoping that you _can_ acquire a taste for it. I do consider that I am lucky though, for Dr. Jackson, Daniel, often appears to have a mug growing from his hand, and Samantha is not quite that addicted to it. I believe that they should simply hook up one of their IVs and administer Daniel's coffee in that manner."

"What is an IV?"

"It is the way in which the Tau'ri replace blood loss. They also administer fluids to someone who is dehydrated in this manner. To the Tok'Ra it would no doubt appear primitive; however, I have seen it in practice, and I know that it works. It was one of the things that helped to keep Samantha and I alive, after the Ashrak almost killed us. Once Dr. Fraiser more or less restarted my heart, I began to regain my strength, and could counter the shock, however, their treatment of us no doubt saved my life—although, I believe that Samantha might have survived me. It was…an experience which neither of us wish to repeat."

"No," Garshaw murmured, "and I cannot blame you for that. Did you say that they restarted your heart?"

Jolinar grimaced, as she assured her, "Close enough to call it that. Another minute, or perhaps two, and my heart would have stopped completely. However, we can discuss this at some other time."

Garshaw agreed, saying, "I understand. I am sure that there are several Tok'Ra that would be interested in your experiences here, during your stay."

"Garshaw—I am not returning to the tunnels; I am remaining here with my host's people." Jolinar's voice was soft, yet, unyielding. There was no hesitance, or so much as a breath of a 'may I' in that voice and statement. "I feel that I can no longer take long-term infiltration missions. I have been doing so for two thousand years, at least, and I believe that it is time for me to make some changes in my life. Lantash and Martouf have wanted me to take fewer missions, for a very long time. I have pushed their needs aside and disregarded them, for much too long. They should have set me aside a long time ago; however, they did not, and I care too much, for them, to allow this to continue. We have not had time to discuss exactly what we wish to do other than remain here and help the Tau'ri, for an extended period, but of that I am sure."

She frowned, as she turned to Selmak, saying, "I am not so sure that we should not attempt to have Per'sus here. He needs to hear these developments, as well. I know that it was Lantash's intention to arrange a meeting between Malek, Per'sus, he and Martouf, and the three of us. He also believes that this is very important. I do not know, if he intended any other Tok'Ra to attend or not, but when he arrives, I will inquire."

Hearing voices, she looked toward the door. Lantash and Malek came through it, followed by Colonel O'Neill, Teal'c, Daniel, and General Hammond. The General shut the door behind him, before taking his seat at the head of the table.

Garshaw, frowned, and her voice was stiff, as she questioned the Tau'ri's presence, "Is there a reason that you wish to discuss Tok'Ra business with outsiders among us?"

"Yes, there is. This is not simply Tok'Ra business anymore. Samantha attempted to explain to you, as, I believe, did Dr. Jackson." Jolinar ran a hand through her hair, pushed herself away from the briefing room table, and walked to the window that overlooked the Chaappa'ai. No, the Stargate.

Selmak was frowning deeply. This was not like Jolinar. Whatever was going on, she felt it was important. Perhaps he should attempt to get Per'sus here. "Jolinar. Do you believe that Per'sus should hear what you have to say?"

She turned and her gaze flew to her mates. He nodded briefly. Lantash and Martouf were very intelligent men, and they read situations correctly almost every time, regardless what was occurring. "Yes. Yes, Selmak, I do."

Lantash stood and walked over to her, gently taking her hand in his. Still holding it to give her his silent support, he turned toward the others, telling them, "I did not intend to hold this meeting in this way; however, after giving it some more thought, I believe that the sooner we all meet to discuss the possibility of an Alliance between our peoples, the better it will be."

Garshaw frowned, as she questioned him, "This is about an Alliance between the Tok'Ra and the Tau'ri? I have already explained to Colonel O'Neill that the council simply will not agree at this time. They do not believe that the Tau'ri have anything to offer us that is worth us taking the risks of them knowing so much about us. I am beginning to believe otherwise and, as I told him, we will have to work toward that goal slowly."

Lantash looked back at her, saying, "I don't believe that this matter was brought to Per'sus's attention. Nor is the High Council aware of it. We cannot decide something this important, without the High Council being involved. I believe that, once the facts are presented to Per'sus, he will insist on an Alliance, possibly a close one, where cooperation, as well as a sharing of information is a vital part."

"There are factions on the base council that will not agree to any changes in the way things are done, and that must soon change…even if it means their ultimate removal from their positions."

"I know you do not understand why Jolinar and I feel this way; however, keep in mind that I have spent several days here learning of the Tau'ri, and Jolinar has been here for two weeks, in a position to learn even more about them than I," Lantash stated his opinion firmly.

Jolinar nodded. "I agree with Lantash. We might as well go ahead and hold the 'mini-meeting' now, and it is important that Per'sus become aware of what could be offered and needed in return. I believe that now is as good a time as any other. For the moment the base is safe," she paused and frowned, before adding, "Although, I believe that all of our bases should be moved again. It is entirely possible, and even probable, that every base has been compromised. I would suggest that you inform Per'sus of the spy, his discovery, and his subsequent execution. You should probably suggest that he send messengers to each base with instructions to move once more. If we are attacked again after that, then we will know that the entire list of our possible base sites has been given over to them. We can only hope that, as it seemed today, he gave the base coordinates one at a time for whatever reason."

"If he was doing that, and I agree that, so far, it appears to be that way, then he might have been receiving something in return. If he was receiving something he really wanted, then he would give the information in the smallest increments he could, so as to receive more rewards," O'Neill stated his opinion of the situation. "Did you have time to look through his other belongings? If so, there might be a clue there. You did go through it or send it on, didn't you?"

Garshaw nodded, assuring him, "Yes, we have his belongings. I am sure we have not yet had a chance to examine them; however, once we are settled into our new tunnels, we will certainly look at them thoroughly, you may be sure."

The Colonel sent her a smile, telling her, "Good. I won't be surprised if something does turn up. It's really the only thing that makes sense, and I think the attacks on your bases would have been coordinated, so that they each happened simultaneously, if the System Lords knew all of them."

"Very true, Colonel, and we must hope that is the scenario that we discover."

Malek stood abruptly, saying, "I agree that Per'sus should be here for this discussion. He needs to be aware of our suspicions, including the ones you are now postulating. I will go at once, and bring him back with me." He turned to the General, asking, "Will someone be available to escort his guards to join my own?"

"Certainly. Ask Lieutenant Simmons to take them when you return. He accompanied yours to the mess hall, so they could relax, until you need them. I believe that he said something about the rec room, too, so it could be that he took them there, after they chose what they wanted. Tell him that I'm putting them in his charge."

"Thank you, General. I will do so." Turning back to the others at the table, he told them, "I do not expect to be gone for very long, unless something major is happening there. It will not take long for him to issue his instructions as to what needs to be done."

Garshaw bowed her head in acknowledgment, assuring him, "That will be fine. We will expect you or a messenger before long. Thank you, Malek."

General Hammond quickly reminded him, "Don't forget to have them give you a GDO, or you will not be allowed to return."

Malek bowed his head, in farewell this time, and turned toward the door, only to find Dr. Jackson, waiting on him. Before he could ask him, what he wanted, Daniel told him, "I'll get the GDO for you, and give you the code again. They might have changed it already, so just in case it has been, I'll check it out," Daniel assured him, before he turned and led him out of the room. Behind them, there was silence.

The longer the silence extended, the more uncomfortable Jack O'Neill became. Damn it, where was Daniel? What was taking him so long? He always had something to say, and the one time they needed him to jabber on and on, he wasn't around. Well, he'd just have to say something himself then and break this increasingly tense silence. As he opened his mouth to attempt to start a conversation, Sam's eyes glowed, and she came fore.

"Please don't, Colonel. It's not uncomfortable; It's simply that we're all thinking about what's been disclosed. It will be fine. Really."

O'Neill frowned, before he looked around the table. No one looked the least bit tense. She was right. Crap. He was the only one that was tense, and he didn't even know why. After all, he wasn't the one that had to explain that not only had he stolen two Goa'uld motherships and a shipwright, he'd also started two wars. He didn't have to tell them about Amaunet, or explain about the spy. He wasn't the one that had to discuss the possibility of hosts for their people, if they would be willing to compromise on the 'fighting for the Tok'Ra' thing for some of them. He didn't have to tell them that the Asgard felt strongly that an Alliance with the Tau'ri was exactly what they should do. Come to think of it, he'd just sit back, relax, and watch what happened.

Now that he realized he wasn't the one that was going to have to be explaining why he didn't report to their base sooner, took an unwilling host, and decided to remain with the Tau'ri, he felt much more comfortable with the entire thing.

He caught a glimpse of movement in his peripheral vision and turned to watch the General, as he looked at the clock, sighed, and reached for the phone. He was using the direct line to the White House, and Jack eavesdropped unashamedly.

"Yes, is the President in residence or has he left for the day?"

"Could you put me through, please? I have some information he wants."

"Yes, I'll hold, thank you."

It seemed that almost no time passed, and he heard General Hammond say quietly, "Good afternoon, Mr. President."

"No, Sir, I'm not calling with an emergency." He chuckled, for a moment, and then obviously answered a comment from the President, as he said, "Yes, Sir, if it continues, it won't be long until a call from me doesn't almost give you a heart attack. You'll consider my calls as non-alarming as the chef's."

Hammond laughed again, before answering, "I realized that it was getting late there so, I'm calling to find out if you'll be available later tonight. Not knowing if you would be available later on, I felt I should give you a heads up on a development that has occurred here."

"Yes, Sir, it's a good development from our viewpoint, and some of it has taken place today; however, there might be some more developments later this evening; we just don't know for sure, yet. If at all possible, I'd like to be able to contact you, if the need arises."

The General sat quietly, as he listened to whatever was being said on the other end of the call. Glancing around the table, Jack realized that he wasn't the only one listening in to this end of the conversation. Then noticing the Tok'Ra listening rather intently, he realized that it was possible that they were capable of hearing both sides of what was being said.

Whatever the President said, must have been affirmative because the General began to explain what had occurred, and why he might possibly need to call him. "Well, Sir, we had some developments with the Tok'Ra today. As you know, Major Carter and Jolinar decided that they shouldn't wait any longer to go to Jolinar's base. Martouf and Lantash went with them, as planned. However, while Jolinar was attempting to find out where the leak in their organization was coming from, Colonel O'Neill happened to see something that led the Tok'Ra to him right away. Unfortunately, it wasn't before he sent the base coordinates to his contact. One of their scouts sent word to them that the Goa'uld were on their way to attack the base. Luckily, the warning was in time, and they were able to move to a new base in time to avoid any loss of life."

He cleared his throat and took a quick sip of water, before continuing, "Before any of that took place, though, General Carter called me from the hospital, and his health had taken a severe turn for the worse. I went to see him, and the doctor told me that I should call in the family. I returned to the base and recalled Major Carter, so that she could see her father. As it turned out, she brought the news that there was a Tok'Ra in need of a host, and we offered the opportunity to blend and become a Tok'Ra to the General. He went to the base, met and talked to the Tok'Ra, and is now Tok'Ra himself. He's sitting here, now."

He paused for a moment, as he listened to the President, and then said, "Yes, Sir, I'm sure he would; however, if you wouldn't mind, I need to tell you the remainder of what is occurring." They could tell that the President agreed, by the relief on the General's face, as he said, "Thank you, Sir. Because of everything that happened today, the close call with the base, and Jolinar's memories returning, as well as Jacob, General Carter's, blending, Jolinar and Lantash decided that they should open negotiations this evening. The Tok'Ra's High Councilor should arrive before long. It may come to a point where you are needed to verify something, or to make a decision about something that we didn't foresee becoming an obstacle. That's why I wanted to see if you would be available, if we needed your input or agreement to something. I really don't envision anything concrete being put into place, at the moment, but there still may be questions that we can't handle without your input."

"Yes, I will. I have the number, and I'll call and report once the meeting is over, to let you know if we are going to be working toward a friendship and an Alliance—or not."

"Yes, Sir, I will, and he's right here. I'll turn this over to him. Which one do you want to speak to first?"

"That will be fine, Sir. Hold on for a minute, please." The General looked over at Selmak and Jacob, to see that they had already stood and were making their way toward him. "He'd like to talk to both of you, but to Jacob first, if you don't mind, Selmak."

"Not at all, General Hammond. I fully understand why he would wish to assure himself that Jacob is content with his circumstances."

Their eyes flared, and Jacob came fore, reaching for the phone, as soon as he had control of his arms, which, as far as the General could tell, was pretty much immediately. He handed the phone to Jacob, as he sat down in a chair beside the desk.

"Good afternoon, Mr. President."

"Yes, I feel fine; better than fine, actually. I feel better than I have in years. Even my arthritis is gone."

"Well, Mr. President, I know everything there is to know about the Tok'Ra. When you blend, you each receive the other's memories and knowledge. It's…fairly overwhelming, at first. That's not really the important thing. What is important is that I believe that General Hammond and Sam made the right decision in telling me about the Tok'Ra. They are everything that Sam and Jolinar told you they were. I'm very glad that I took a leap of faith in accepting the proposition they offered that gave me the opportunity to blend, and that George took that same leap in giving me the chance to make that decision."

Jacob sat and listened, as the President talked to him, for a minute or two, obviously explaining something that surprised him. "I…didn't realize that. I believed that, since I was dying, George gave me clearance. I didn't know this was arranged during their D.C. trip. I didn't even know that you had a meeting with Sam, but then, I haven't talked to her much since then. She's been on several missions recently."

He listened intently, for a moment, before glancing at Jolinar and Sam, as well as Martouf and Lantash. "Yes, I understand, and Selmak and I will remain patient a little while longer to find out what else was discussed, during your meeting with them." Another pause, and then Jacob told him, "Yes, you can. Thank you for making this possible. I look forward to seeing you, too, James. It's been a while. Here is Selmak."

As the glow faded from their eyes, Selmak, told him quietly, "It is an honor, Mr. President, I assure you. We are both indebted to you, for although I saved Jacob's life, at the same time, he saved mine. We have a mutual, symbiotic relationship with our hosts, as you know." He listened again, and then answered, "No, Sir, our decision was to remain with the Tok'Ra. While we will be able to spend time on Earth, we will be needed by the Tok'Ra. Although, I believe that Martouf and Lantash wish to remain with the Tau'ri at the SGC and join their mate on SG-1. I know that there is some odd regulation about that, which I find unusual, for our mated pairs often work together, and we have never had any problems."

"Yes, Sir, I believe that would be wise. To disallow something that is common for us could cause problems, if the time ever comes that other Tok'Ra would wish to become more familiar with the Tau'ri and your culture. Mates being allowed to come together and remain that way, would make the idea more inviting to many, I am sure. However, as it stands now, Jolinar and Samantha and their mates will be a test of the idea's workability, thus, if we do manage to become allies at some point in the future, that problem will have been resolved. By allowing them to remain, it will also allow your people to see the differences between the Goa'uld and the Tok'Ra."

"Thank you for your welcome to Earth, Mr. President. We will be more than happy to meet with you, whenever both of our schedules make that possible." He chuckled softly, "Yes, and I will return you to General Hammond now. It has been a pleasure talking to you, however briefly."

He handed the phone back to the General and returned to his original chair, his mind working very quickly. The president had hinted that there was 'more' than they yet knew. If it was what he hoped it was, then an Alliance was almost assured. He heard the General say his good-byes, and within a few minutes, Daniel Jackson returned with Malek and Per'sus.

As the tall good-looking man entered the briefing room, his gaze took in everything, at once. He was alert to any danger, but realizing there was none, he walked toward the General with Malek walking beside him. They approached the desk where General Hammond was now standing, with Martouf and Lantash beside him. He reached out and clasped the General's arm, as Martouf donned his diplomat hat, and said, "General Hammond, I would like to introduce to you, Per'sus of the Tok'Ra, our High Councilor. Per'sus, this is General George Hammond, head of Stargate Command, Earth."

Bowing his head in greeting, as he had noticed the Tok'Ra seemed to do, General Hammond, told him sincerely, "It is an honor and a pleasure to meet you, Councilor Per'sus."

Per'sus returned the gesture, as they released each other's forearms, and replied, "The sentiments are returned, General Hammond, I assure you. I am told that you, and your people, saved Selmak for us this day, as well as, found a traitor. It is an honor and a pleasure to meet you as well."

"Won't you have a seat? Is there anything we can get you to drink?"

"A glass of water would be appreciated, thank you."

Martouf brought him the water, thankful that it was not tap water, which he found unpalatable because of the chlorine, and he and Malek returned to their own seats.

Lantash took control, as Per'sus took a sip of his water and prepared to take another. Indicating Sam and Jacob, he told him, "I believe that someone should introduce you to Selmak and Jolinar's hosts, Per'sus. Major Samantha Carter is Jolinar's host, and General Jacob Carter is Selmak's host."

Per'sus paused, with his glass of water halfway to his mouth, and stared at him, as he said, "Jolinar? Jolinar is here?"

Lantash looked to Malek, asking, "You did not tell him that Jolinar was alive?"

If a Tok'Ra could get a deer in the headlights look, Malek would have had one, but as it was, he simply looked slightly surprised, before he admitted, "I forgot. I have no excuse for that. I told him of the spy and finding a host for Selmak. I completely forgot to mention Jolinar." Looking at Per'sus and Sam, he bowed his head slightly, saying, "I apologize to you both. That is not something that I should have forgotten."

As Lantash introduced them, both Sam and Jacob had come fore. Now, Sam sent Malek a bright and friendly smile, as she told him, "Well, I, for one, am pleased to see that you aren't always as perfect as Jolinar swore you were. She assured me that you never forgot anything and always took care of every detail, never overlooking the least little thing."

Still grinning, she turned to Per'sus, saying, "Councilor Per'sus, it is a pleasure to meet you; however, since I'm quite sure that you are anxious to find out what's been happening, I'll give control back to Jol."

"_Jol? Did Samantha just call Jolinar, Jol, Lantash?" _Martouf sounded almost as affronted, as he did when the Colonel called him Marty the first time.

"_Why, yes, Martouf, I believe that she did. I have a feeling that these Tau'ri are going to shakeup the Tok'Ra and constantly surprise us. They do appear to like to shorten names. I have to wonder what they will eventually call me. Lanny? Lan? Or perhaps…Tash. Yes, I think I prefer that one." _

"_I—you—how can you say that? You have a very nice name, just as it is," _Martouf answered obviously somewhat appalled, still staring at Samantha, and wondering how Jolinar felt about _her _new name.

Lantash laughed, as he told him, _"I was teasing you, Martouf. Although, in reality, I do not think that I would mind too much, although, perhaps Lanny is going too far. Still…" _He sighed and brought himself back to the conversation going on around them. "_I believe that we should give our attention back to the conversation, now, though," _Lantash urged, pulling him out of his metal gyrations and back to the situation at hand, as well.

"_Yes, thank you, I will," _Martouf, agreed, before turning to listen to Per'sus's response to his mate.

'It is a pleasure, Major Carter. I look forward to hearing how you came to be Jolinar's host, as well as how she is still among us." He then turned to Jacob, telling him, "General, it seems that we owe you and the Major both a debt of gratitude. We thank you both sincerely."

Jacob came forward and grinned, saying, "Hey, Selmak and I saved each other. Sam's the one that you should thank. She's the one that got permission to offer me the opportunity to meet and blend with him."

"I see. Are you and the Major related in some way then?"

"Ah, yeah. Sam's my daughter."

"I—see." A slight smile finally graced his lips, and his gaze encompassed both of them, as he told them, "I must tell you again, that the Tok'Ra do thank you. Both of you. If there is anything which we can do, please…tell us."

"Actually, it's funny you said that, because…"

"Ah, Dad, I think this is something that Jolinar and Lantash need to discuss with their people. I'm sure it will all come out, but, not from us, ah, okay?"

He gave his daughter a sheepish grin, saying, "Right, Sam. Sorry. I've been a General too long; it tends to make a person just take charge. I'm going to let Sel take over for now."

"_Sel? You called me Sel?" _

"_Sure, it's a nickname. You'll get used to it." _

"_Well, if Jolinar can become accustomed to being called Jol, I suppose I can live with Sel." _

"_Of course, you can. And call me Jake. It's shorter." _

"_Yes," _his symbiote told him faintly, _"I suppose it is." _Then, he turned his attention back to the discussion. There were things that he and Jacob did not know, and he did not want to miss the information.

Per'sus sat, quietly for a moment as the two Tok'Ra took control, before saying, "Jolinar, I welcome you back amongst us. It is truly a joy to know that you have returned to us, even as we mourn the loss of Rosha."

"Thank you, Per'sus. The explanation is somewhat long; however, I will make it as short as I can without leaving out anything pertinent. There are several topics that we need to cover, including my decision to remain among the Tau'ri, and to take my seat upon the High Council. That, however is the least of which we must speak."

She fell silent as she contemplated what she wished to say. Now that it was time to start, Jolinar was at a loss as to where to begin.

"_The beginning, perhaps? How about starting with you overhearing Cordesh talking to Cronus?" _

Jolinar nodded, "_Thank you, Mer Prinekh. I believe that you are correct." _

She turned to Per'sus, telling him, "No one here, other than my Sam know the entire ordeal that led me to this point, though the Tau'ri know most of what has occurred. As I said, I will not bore you with all of the happenings. But I will begin at the beginning, which is when I overheard Cordesh talking to Cronus…and telling him exactly who I was. Rosha and I barely made it away from his palace, without being caught. For months, we were barely ahead of the Jaffa and the Ashrak that he sent after us. At one time, as I am sure you have guessed, they got close enough to us to mortally wound Rosha. I was fortunate to find a host willing to…"

TBC


	26. Beginning to Build the Bridge Ch 26 AAOF

_**Chapter Twenty-six Summary: **After a quick meal, Jolinar begins to explain to Per'sus, Garshaw, and Malek, why an alliance between the two races would be highly desirable. As she begins to recount what she and Sam were doing recently, the Tok'Ra begin to see why Lantash, Selmak, and Jolinar all feel that they should ally closely…becoming friends, as well as allies. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication _

_**Sais'tel – **A Sandwich_

_**Gallo'pavo – **Fowl _

_**Pawr'**__**sahyn - **__Pork_

_**Boh'**__**vahyn – **__Beef_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Twenty –six**_

_**Beginning to Build the Bridge**_

* * *

Jolinar took the glass of water that Daniel held out to her and nodded her thanks to him. Her recitation of the events had been concise, but thorough. They were now in possession of the facts pertaining to what occurred from the time she heard Cordesh talking to Cronus, until she and Samantha were attacked and almost killed by the Ashrak. She had just finished explaining that their survival was owing to both Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill's timely actions, as well as, the swift and, considering what they were called upon to do, fearless actions of the medical personnel, particularly Dr. Fraiser.

At the moment, they were taking a short break to give everyone time to stand and stretch, go to the facilities, or get something to drink and, in the Colonel's case, something upon which to snack. She noticed that the Tok'Ra were joining him. The General picked up the phone, and she heard him ordering some things that were a little more substantial than chips. Realizing that the Tok'Ra would not want to stop to eat a meal, he ordered cold meats, some cheeses and vegetables that could be eaten with dip, breads, and condiments. They would have cold cuts for sandwiches if they wanted them, and if not, there were other things, which Sam told her was referred to as 'finger foods' with which to appease their need for sustenance. She was glad, as none of them had eaten since their early breakfast, and they were all hungry.

The Tau'ri and the Tok'Ra were sitting or standing in a couple of small groups, and she was glad to see that they were interacting with one another. She decided to make a trip to the facilities, since nearly everyone else had already been. She noticed that the Tok'Ra were beginning to look around at the obviously relaxed and content humans, and wonder when they would restart the meeting. Since they could not start without her, now was the ideal time to leave. She hoped the food arrived by the time she returned.

Her first order of business, after she came back, was to walk to the coffee pot, pour them another cup of coffee, and send a quick glance around the room. There were still no arguments or disagreements, as far as she could tell. The groups had broken apart and reformed in different configurations, but that was good. She was glad that they were all becoming acquainted, at least, on that first surface level. A deeper knowledge of one another would take time and exposure, but she hoped that they would someday reach that level. At this point in time, though, it looked promising for the future. They did not realize it now, but they were slowly building the bridge on which they would cross the divide.

The knock on the door heralded the arrival of the food. Daniel answered it, and showed the mess hall workers where to set it up. As soon as they left, the General waved toward the food, explaining, "I hope you all don't mind, but I assumed that you wouldn't want to stop for a full meal. However, I also assumed that you're all hungry, so I asked them to send up some food, so that we could make some sandwiches, and have some cheese, vegetables, and dip along with them. If you're not sure of what it is, or how we eat it, just ask. We've all been in situations where we have no idea what we're supposed to do with the food presented to us, so as I said, if in doubt, just ask. Selmak, why don't you and Jolinar go ahead and start. You're both familiar with what sandwiches and finger food are simply from your host's memories, if nothing else."

Selmak nodded, and turned to the others, explaining, "A Sandwich is a _sais'tel_. The finger food is simply the vegetables that you eat with this dip by, well, dipping them into it, and these items are things to put on the Sandwich to enhance the flavor of the meat. As you know, the cheese can be eaten on the _sais'tel_ or alone. You are all familiar with each of these meats, and as far as I know, you all like them. Per'sus, you will prefer the white one. It is of the _gallo'pavo, _and the Tau'ri would call it fowl. I believe that it is either chicken or turkey, which are both birds with some white meat. This one is what we would probably call _pawr'__sahyn, _which here they call pork, and it comes from swine or pig. This one is _boh'__vahyn, _which they call beef and it comes from cattle."

It took little time, for them to eat, as the General was correct in his assumptions, and they were all hungry. The Tau'ri introduced the Tok'Ra to soft drinks; something that Jolinar had found she liked in regular form, but absolutely refused to drink in diet form, telling Sam that she would not put those chemicals into their body. The coffee and regular soft drinks were as far as she was willing to give; it would be enough. There were varying facial expressions, as they tried everything from coffee, to tea, to soft drinks, to juice. As they each settled back around a now cleared table, Jolinar, Lantash, and Teal'c took the gathered dishes and set them outside the door, along with what little remained of the leftover sandwich makings, while the General called for someone to collect it. The drinks were kept along with some of the cheese, vegetables, and dip.

Now that everyone was seated around the table, Jolinar leaned back and waited to see, if they had more comments. She would say judgments, but she and her Sam had already exonerated one another, and she really did not care what anyone, other than Lantash and Martouf, thought of what she did, when she blended with her new host.

Per'sus sipped his soft drink, and then looked at her saying, "I believe that you have done what you could, Jolinar. You were wise to remain away from your base, as closely as they were following you, and your decision not to attempt to contact them about the traitor, was likewise astute. There is little doubt that had you returned, and attempted to convince your council that there was a traitor amongst them, their probable response would have been disbelief. You would have been consigned to a healer's care, for your forgotten memories and, at the first opportunity; you would, no doubt, have suffered a tragic accident that resulted in both your and your host's deaths."

"I cannot fault you for attempting to resolve the matter, in the way you did, and whether or not it caused Cordesh to give the base's coordinates to his overlord, or not, is immaterial, now. He did so, and we have been fortunate that all of the attacked bases had scouts or operatives in positions to know of the attacks, before they occurred, and alerted us to them, thus giving us enough time to move to a new homeworld."

Jolinar's eyes glowed, and Sam came fore, asking, "So, you're saying that all of the bases that were attacked had scouts or operatives in positions to know about them before hand?"

Garshaw answered her, "That is correct. Each base had enough time to pack and move to a new homeworld. In our case, there was no excess time; however, we did manage to do it. We have been, as Per'sus stated, very fortunate."

Sam frowned, before asking, "I'm assuming that having scouts or operatives that could warn the bases is not true for all of the System Lords? This attack was not by Cronus, then? He's the one that Cordesh told of Jolinar, so would he have been the one that Cordesh notified and gave the coordinates to, or would it have been a System Lord that was much closer to the base's world, in hopes that they would surprise you and thus destroy you? Are these attacks being made by System Lords other than Cronus?"

The Tok'Ra stared at her for a moment, before Malek, as if he was still formulating his reply, slowly answered her, "Each base was attacked by a different System Lord. No, we do not have scouts or operatives with every System Lord, at least, not in positions where they would know of an impending attack, unless they happened to overhear the conversation, as you did."

"All right. We keep saying overlord, but…do System Lords loan out their underlings, spies, whatever, if the matter under consideration is one that affects all of them? Or would his overlord instruct him to contact a specific System Lord, depending on the base, for which he was giving them the coordinates?"

All of them frowned in thought, and Daniel looked over at her, and murmured, "I see where you are going with this, Sam."

Malek looked at him sharply, questioning him, "You do?"

As they all looked at him, he flushed, but at Sam's nod of agreement, he continued, "Yes, I do, although there is at least one more assumption, which, since she has Jolinar to answer it, Sam probably already knows, but I don't. Would Cordesh have known where all of the scouts and operatives were? Or at least some of them? Because if he did know, then even under whatever brainwashing he was under, he was still, up to a point, protecting the Tok'Ra. Perhaps his host influenced him, or subconsciously, he couldn't put aside all of those years of loyalty to the Tok'Ra."

"We have to discount his last attack, which we think might have been because of his fear of being exposed. Other than that one, for whatever reason, it seems odd that he would have given them coordinates only to bases that not only had scouts or operatives, within their households, but which, also, would alert a System Lord whose territory it was in, yet at such a distance that it would take some time to reach it. Why didn't he give the coordinates to bases in regions where the System Lord wouldn't have a spy or scout around? It doesn't make sense, unless his own conscience, which he wouldn't realize, and/or his host were working on him."

Seeing nods all around, as each of them thought that over, Sam smiled at them, saying, "Well, that's all I wanted. I felt like we should at least explore that point. I'll give Jolinar back to you now, though." Her eyes glowed, and Jolinar was back with them.

"_Thank you, my Sam. I did not consider those things, and it does help to ease the pain that his betrayal causes me." _

"_You're very welcome. I think it's a very good possibility. Even with them turning him, he still may have kept a certain amount of loyalty. We'll never know for sure, of course, but I like to think that underneath it all, there was still goodness there," Sam answered, her voice soft with understanding. _

Their attention was called back to those around the tables, as Garshaw commented, "We now know what happened to you, after you left Cronus, what happened to Rosha, your meeting and blending with Major Carter, the attack, and your survival. What, may we ask, then occurred? I do not believe that you have done nothing in the time you have spent here."

Jolinar paused, and looked around the table at the Tok'Ra. "I am going to digress from the point at which we have arrived, to bring something to Malek and Per'sus's attention." She felt that they were probably the only ones that were unaware of their goals, although, she knew that Lantash might have informed Malek. Therefore, she looked directly at them, saying, "We have a goal in mind. We wish to form an alliance between the Tok'Ra and the Tau'ri. By an alliance, I mean a formal measure of intent and agreement, in fact, I wish to go a step farther and base this alliance on…a friendship. We wish to build trust between the Tau'ri and the Tok'Ra, and therefore, be aware of what is happening to each other. Lantash and I will remain here, at the SGC, and work on SG-1. We will be the first link. Selmak, will return to the tunnels and become the liaison for the Tau'ri within the Tok'Ra."

As Jolinar relaxed, and it was obvious that nothing else would be forthcoming, Garshaw sighed, saying, "As you know, I have already placed this suggestion before the base council, and it was summarily vetoed. I have agreed that I, personally, believe that, eventually, we may be able to form a closer connection, but what you are suggesting, a formal alliance, and exchange of intelligence, is far beyond what I feel will ever be allowed to occur. You are as aware as I am, Jolinar, that the Tau'ri have nothing to offer us. They are far too primitive technologically and, even if they were not, we must use Goa'uld technology in order to appear as Goa'uld. There is also the fact that an alliance with us makes them more vulnerable. If it becomes known, then if any of them are captured, they will be tortured for information about us. We cannot take the chance on them knowing too much and giving it up during interrogation and torture. I am surprised that you can even suggest such a thing and actually expect it to be accepted."

Jolinar smiled at her, saying, "Those are very good points, but they can be worked around, I assure you, for I have given this a great deal of thought." She then turned her gaze to Per'sus and Malek. "Well? Have you nothing to say about our proposal, Per'sus? Malek?"

Malek looked uncomfortable, as he glanced over at Lantash, and then around at the Tau'ri, before saying, "I am unsure. You are smiling, Jolinar, and Lantash is perfectly at ease, as if he is already aware of the outcome of this meeting, these…proceedings. You both know something, which we do not." He frowned, and his eyes narrowed, as if he was attempting to see into her mind, as he gazed at her. "You all, including the Tau'ri are aware of things, which we are not. I do not think that we can make such a decision without knowing what the Tau'ri do have to offer that you know about, and we do not."

She answered him quietly and softly, telling him, "Very logical, Malek. I am very glad to see that you are giving some thought to the fact that Lantash and I have chosen to stay here to fight the Goa'uld. It obviously says something to you that we would do so."

"Yes. It does. Therefore, I will withhold my opinion, until I know what else you have to tell us."

She turned to Per'sus, and raised one eyebrow, much as Teal'c was wont to do. The question in her gaze brought a slow nod from him. "As always, Malek's counsel is valuable. I agree with him that there are things that are still hidden from us. Perhaps Garshaw is correct in that the Tau'ri technology is far behind ours; I do not know that. Her observations about security and secrecy are true; however, I do know you, and I know Lantash, and the fact that you are both planning on staying here, speaks for itself. You know, or have seen, something within the Tau'ri that leads you to believe that we should form not just an alliance, but an alliance of friends. I, too, shall reserve judgment, until you have placed the information of what the Tau'ri would be able to give to us, in return for our intelligence, technology, and abilities."

Garshaw spoke, before anyone else could do so, saying, "If both Malek and Per'sus feel that there are things, which we do not yet know, then I, too, will agree to withhold my judgment, until we have heard what you have to say." She turned to Selmak, asking him, "What do you know of this? What has your host to say about it? Surely, he must know what they can offer to us in exchange for intelligence and technology."

"I am sorry to disappoint you, Garshaw, but Jacob and I are in almost as much darkness in this, as you are. Jacob was not involved in the Stargate Program, and until today, he knew nothing about it, not even that it existed. I can tell you that this entire program is top secret. The population of this country and the remainder of their world, know nothing about the threat hovering over them, or that the people of the SGC are the bulwark against it; the only thing keeping them safe, at this moment."

He paused, for a moment, before adding, "As I was saying, Jacob knows little more than you do. He was given clearance to be told about it, only if there was a symbiote available. In that case, they had permission to tell him, and to offer him a chance to become Tok'Ra. I have my suspicions, after speaking with their President, their leader, earlier this afternoon; however, I do not know for sure if my suspicions are correct or simply wishful thinking. Jacob and I did both feel that they wished to ally with the Tok'Ra. We both believe that there is more to come. That aside, I can tell you this…if they offered nothing at all, I would advise an alliance. Being privy to what I am, I will tell you that I believe that you are all underestimating them a great deal."

"No, they are not as technologically advanced as we are, that is very true. But technology does not define a man or a race. It is their beliefs and determination that you should be exploring, not whether or not they have weapons, or some other technology that you can use to advantage. I believe that you will find out just how determined and versatile they can be, as this meeting continues to progress." He paused, a frown marring his face, before he added, calmly, quietly, and decisively, "I firmly believe that if you do not form an alliance with the Tau'ri, it will be one of the biggest mistakes that the Tok'Ra will ever make, and that, assuming we all continue to live, we will live to regret it bitterly."

Per'sus nodded to the others, saying, "Very well, then, I am willing to listen to what you have to say, and to consider a formal alliance with the Tau'ri. Selmak is seldom wrong, especially when it comes to a situation such as this, and neither are Martouf and Lantash. Although, they have not given their opinion, as such, it is obvious that they believe the Tau'ri are a people with whom we should be working. I do not believe that they would remain here with the Tau'ri simply because their mates were remaining here; of that, I feel very sure. For them to agree to stay, they must feel strongly about bringing this alliance into being, and that they can work against the Goa'uld from here as well as they can if they remain with the Tok'Ra. I also believe that they intend to be available to the Tok'Ra should a need for them arise. Otherwise, Jolinar would not have announced her intention of taking her council seat."

Per'sus looked at Lantash, as he spoke and knowing that his opinion was being requested, Lantash told them what they intended to do going forward. "Martouf and I have every intention of being available to the Tok'Ra, for both short missions, where you need one of our persona, and in a diplomatic capacity. If needed, we will also do any negotiating that you feel we are particularly suited to do."

"As with Jolinar, neither of us are '_leaving_' the Tok'Ra, so please do not misunderstand our remaining here, as indicating that. We are simply taking a long-term mission here, instead of within a Goa'uld stronghold. It will have its dangers, just as any other mission does."

"As for the Tau'ri…yes, I do believe that you are not yet aware of the assets and abilities they would bring into an alliance. I do not believe that I know everything about them as a people yet, either; however, even if I did not know what they are offering in exchange, I must agree with Selmak. I would advise that an alliance be put into place between our two peoples, even if they could give us nothing more than what they have already given us. Two hosts and a traitor should show you something of them and their characters. I am quite sure that, if we were to ask for some physical military back up, in an emergency, they would provide it, if they had it available, whatever it was that we needed. I also know that, if they had intelligence that would prevent a strike against us, or save us, if it could not be stopped, they would give it to us, whether we are truly allied or not…if we allowed them the knowledge of how to contact us. I would hope that we would do the same."

Per'sus bowed his head in acknowledgment, assuring him, "Yes, of course, we would send any pertinent information on to them, at once, whether there was a formal alliance or not."

Jolinar nodded to Lantash to let him know that she was once more ready to take control of the meeting. He nodded in return and settled his attention on her. He knew that the offer of hosts would be the last thing offered. Just as he knew that would seal any last doubts of an alliance away forever.

"Thank you. Now that is settled, I will continue and explain the happenings of the last two weeks. You were correct in your supposition. I have not been idle. First, I knew from Samantha that, besides looking for information and technology, to use against the Goa'uld, they were also looking for Dr. Jackson, Daniel's, wife and her brother. Since I felt fairly confident that I knew where his wife was, I offered to help them rescue her. However, before we could attempt that, there was an emergency on the world of Cimmeria. Because SG-1 felt responsible, for the attack on their world, it was decided that we would go and see for ourselves what had occurred there and attempt to help the people living on that world."

"I must tell you that the majority of this story, I have seen and discussed with Samantha, after the fact. Janet, Dr. Fraiser, was attempting to develop a masking serum for me. We had a small amount that the Ashrak was carrying, and so, she did her best to work from that. I told her what I knew of it, and she came up with a serum. Since it was obvious that we were going onto a Goa'uld occupied world, we decided that I would use it. It put me to sleep, at once, so Samantha was on her own, for the majority of the mission. Which she managed quite well, of course, just as she always did before my advent into her life. However, that is not discussing what occurred. Heru'Ur had attacked and taken over Cimmeria. There were four of us against a great many Jaffa. They encountered Jaffa at the Stargate, thus alerting Heru'Ur to our presence, and he put a large contingent of Jaffa to guard it. This, of course, blocked our only way of contacting the SGC for reinforcements."

"Gairwyn, our contact there, told Sam and Daniel about a 'Hall of Thor's Might'. Since no one knew what was there, they set out to discover its purpose hoping that it would prove to be some sort of weapon. Sam and Daniel solved the riddles set by the Asgard and contacted them. Shortly thereafter, the situation deteriorated, and SG-1 surrendered, in order to protect the remaining survivors of the original attack."

"As we were walking toward the Jaffa encampment, I awoke and searched through Sam's memories. Once I realized that they had actually contacted Thor, I saw no reason to be concerned, and as I expected, he arrived shortly thereafter, and proceeded to destroy the landing platforms, the encampment, and the Jaffa. Heru'Ur, unfortunately, appears to have escaped."

"At any rate, Thor informed me that the serum did not work, and gave me a better formula, told me to keep the other as a tranquilizer to use on the Goa'uld, and left, after assuring us that he would update their devices to recognize Teal'c. Teal'c's entrapment was the original reason that SG-1 had to destroy the hammer device. As they pointed out to him, they could hardly pick up a communicator, and tell him they needed Teal'c removed from the Asgard's labyrinth. He understood that, and so forgave their destruction of the original device. That is how the Tau'ri became aware that we, ah—_know_—the Asgard. In fact, Thor was quite open in front of them, which informed me, that he trusts them to keep information to themselves. The Asgard have, in fact, watched the Tau'ri for centuries."

She took a sip of water, and then resumed her report. "As soon as we returned, we immediately began to ready for the mission to rescue Daniel's wife. In the meantime, we underwent a delightful, ah, interrogation, by their government's security branch that deals with the SGC." She smiled. "The President allowed him six 'supervised' hours with Sam and I. I believe that we spent the first thirty minutes arguing over which of us was of higher rank and should either bow or salute first. It was very entertaining, and the video of it has made the rounds of the base personnel. It has been declared highly amusing. Maybourne is a pompous little man, and Lantash and Martouf were saved from having to be interrogated by him, by the simple act of declaring him an ambassador of the Tok'Ra, which placed him firmly within the bounds of diplomatic immunity."

Per'sus was frowning, and it was very obvious that he had at least one question, if not more. Jolinar looked at him, waiting to see if he actually wanted to say something or, if he was just thinking, and perhaps mulling over what he had learned from her, so far. Finally, he asked her, "Was it not mentioned that Lantash and Martouf were, ah, under guard, or in a cell, at one point?"

Lantash smiled briefly, as he answered the question, explaining, "Yes, we were. However, General Hammond did not feel that I was acting as a typical Goa'uld would, so he kept my capture—unreported—until Jolinar and Samantha returned from their capitol city. They were there to receive a medal, a promotion in rank, and to meet with their President to discuss the Tok'Ra and what they could do that would encourage an alliance between our people. They must also have discussed offering Samantha's father, who was quite ill, the chance to become a Tok'Ra, as we explained earlier. Upon their return from Washington D.C., they were sent to our cell to interrogate us; however, they recognized us as Tok'Ra, and that we were from their home base. We were released at once. That occurred two days ago, and since then, we have spent our time with our mates, getting to know Samantha, learning about the Tau'ri, and devising a way to attempt to discover the name of the traitor."

"Why were you 'captured'? What led them to believe that you were Goa'uld?" Per'sus asked, still slightly confused, as to why he had been 'captured' to begin with, when he would have been dressed as a Tok'Ra and acting nothing like a Goa'uld.

"Jaffa arrived. Martouf and I were hit during the firefight that ensued, and our eyes glowed, as I took control. We were very badly injured, and we spent the first few days, in their infirmary, under Dr. Fraiser's care. Once I awoke, the General began to suspect that I was Tok'Ra, and so, I was given a comfortable cell, food, clothing, and no torture or interrogation. The only thing we lacked was something to do, which meant that we slept a great deal. I must also relate to you, that when I say that we were badly injured, I mean that chances are very good that, without Dr. Fraiser's intervention, we very probably would have died. Our injuries were severe, for we took two staff blasts. By preventing us from going into shock, and giving us fluids, as _primitive,_ as _most Tok'Ra _might consider their methods to be, they do work…as Jolinar found, when they saved her."

Daniel held up a hand, procuring everyone's attention. Looking at each of the Tok'Ra in turn, he told them, "You know, I don't mind when Lantash or Jolinar call our ways, or us, primitive, because they don't really believe it, and they're actually being kind of facetious. But, I _know_ that the rest of you aren't taking it that way, so how about you use the word that the Nox use for us, which is '_young'_. We are young. We know that. However, we are _not_ primitive; cavemen were primitive, so let's just…stop using that, okay?"

Jolinar answered him immediately, saying, "I apologize, Daniel, and you are absolutely correct; it is insulting to your people. I will refrain from using that word again, I assure you."

"As will I," Lantash agreed at once. "We should never have used it to begin with, since, as you said, neither of us believes it to be true."

"I will agree to use this word, and I also believe that the Nox are probably very correct. Young is what you are, but I can also see that you have advanced quite well in the time since Ra was banished from the First World…and furthermore, you have done it alone, without help from outside technology." Per'sus paused, and then commented, "So, you also know the Nox. Somehow, that does not surprise me."

"Well, I can't say that we're buddies, but we can contact them if we need to," Colonel O'Neill admitted. Then he asked, rather tentatively, "Ah, I don't suppose you also know the Tollan?"

Per'sus nodded, asserting, "Yes, as a matter of fact we do. Although, we are not closely allied, we have been known to help one another. I must assume, Colonel O'Neill, that your question indicates that you, too, are acquainted with them?"

"Yeah, we are. We happened to gate to their world, as the last group of them were trying to leave there. They'd been overcome by the fumes and ash and stuff in the air from all the volcanoes that were erupting. When we found them, they were lying in front of their gate, all but dead. We managed to get them back here, and our medical teams brought them around. Then, when some of our shadier government types attempted to high-jack them, in an attempt to force them to give us technology; we sort of—arranged—for the Nox to zip in and take them away, before our people could get to them. Since then, that particular agency has been under a lot of scrutiny. That's the group that was only allowed six hours with Jolinar, and none with Marty and Lantash. Needless to say, they really don't like us here at the SGC. The President, when he found out what they attempted to do to the Tollan, was very, very unhappy, and that sort of made them very unhappy with us and our, ah, interference in N.I.D. business."

"I see," Per'sus said softly. He turned his head from O'Neill, first towards Jolinar and then towards Lantash, before commenting, "I am beginning to see what it is that you see in them, and I am beginning to believe that perhaps you are correct in your opinion." He turned back to Jolinar, and urged her, "Please continue, Jolinar. I am most interested to hear what happened next."

Jolinar sent him a brief smile, saying, "As you wish. I will begin from the point at which I stopped. So—in order to rescue Daniel's wife, Sha'uri, we needed a ship, since the gate where I believed she was is inoperable. I decided that, since I knew where there was a very lightly guarded secret shipyard, that I should simply take one. So, Teal'c trained the Marines—they are highly trained combat soldiers—to behave as Jaffa. Some of the female soldiers were trained to behave as servants. We gathered all of the SGC's accumulated Jaffa uniforms, and found a person who was skilled in the application of theatrical makeup to see to it that they appeared to be Cronus's Jaffa. With Teal'c acting as my first prime, I acted the part of a very highly placed underling of Cronus's, who had been sent to acquire his motherships, for the battle he was about to become embroiled in. I gave the secret passphrases to the head of their security, and proceeded to take a mothership—as well as, the shipwright that built them."

"And you succeeded? You actually stole a mothership of Cronus's using SGC personnel and Teal'c?" Garshaw gasped, at Jolinar's audacity. It was one of her trademarks, actually, but she had forgotten just how brazen and risk-taking Jolinar could be.

"Yes, and actually, it was, ah, two motherships. I took one, and Teal'c took the other. I did leave Cronus a message, in which Sokar thanked him for the new motherships."

It was Malek's turn to gasp. "You blamed the theft on Sokar? You do realize that they will go to war, do you not?" Malek cocked his head slightly, as he narrowed his eyes, and appraised her, before murmuring, "Of course, you know that, and it was a deliberate choice on your part. Very well done, as always, Jolinar. You were aware that Sokar was becoming too powerful, since Apophis's last defeat. I wish we could find out who did that. We lost operatives on those ships." He sighed sadly, at the thought of their lost comrades.

"I'm afraid that we have to take the blame for that, Malek," General Hammond announced quietly. "He and Klorel were poised to attack Earth. SG-1 used the Stargate to ring onto one of the ships, just as he left for Earth. They, along with our inside contact, proceeded to destroy both ships from within them. The Colonel, the Major, Teal'c, and their informant escaped in two gliders. Dr. Jackson received what would have been fatal wounds in a firefight during the mission. He—remained behind to keep any Jaffa from following them to the other ship. When he realized that the ship would blow up very soon, and there didn't appear to be any more Jaffa, he used the sarcophagus to heal the wounds, then he gated to our Alpha site, and from there to the SGC. All of them came very close to being blown up, with the ships."

He cleared his throat before adding, "This is one of the reasons that we would like to have a fairly close alliance with the Tok'Ra. It's becoming rather obvious that we are going to continue to come into contact with one another. Had we been aware that there were Tok'Ra operatives on board, we would have had our contact alert them to be ready to gate to a safe world, before we destroyed the ships. I _am_ sorry for their loss."

Per'sus nodded, before assuring him, "In this instance, it could not be avoided; however, I believe that you may be correct. If for no other reason than to avoid killing one another's people, we both need to be aware of what the other is doing." He held up his hand toward Garshaw. "Yes, I realize the danger of them knowing where our operatives are. However, if we are going to continue to come into such close contact that we inadvertently kill one another, it could very well be worth taking the risk that one of their people will be tortured for the information."

Jolinar addressed him, before Garshaw could respond, "Per'sus, I have given this much thought, since I agree that it is dangerous information, for the soldiers to have. I have come to the conclusion that the teams themselves do not need that information, unless they are going to be in a situation where there is a need for them to know it. There is no reason that General Hammond and SG-1 cannot be the only ones with access to the entirety of that information. Only if a team is going to a world, with a known operative on it, would they be informed that a Tok'Ra _might_ be on that world. They would not need to know who the operative is, or whether their mission is temporary or long-term. The only time they would need to know who an operative was, would be in a case such as SG-1 were in on Apophis's ship. Without a name or description, there would be no way for the team to warn the operative. Therefore, if it was life-threatening to the operative, and they needed to warn them of something, then they would need and have to have, more information"

"The same would apply to our missions. For example, if Selmak is going to blow up a naquadah mine, then the SGC should know what world it is that is going to be in pieces, and when it will become that way. They can then avoid sending a team there. It would work both ways. Only the four of you here, or whoever you decided should know, would need to have a list of upcoming missions, why, and where the SG teams would be going. Then, if there was a conflict, we would each know and could prevent an accident from occurring by deciding which mission should actually take place."

"The only other people that would need to know, at any given time, would be the operatives affected. If an SG team is going to world A, and we have an operative there, then they would need to know when that SG team would be doing reconnaissance. In that way, they could attempt to keep them from being captured, or be able to attempt to get them out, if they are taken prisoner. The team would not know, until the operative contacted them, who the operative was, so even under torture, they could not give that information away. All they would know was that there might be a Tok'Ra on the world. I believe that would minimize the danger to both sides, and yet, it would still keep us from mutual genocide."

Daniel spoke up, telling them, "The Tok'Ra are in a different situation than we are. Depending on how they operate, they might need to inform more people, as dangerous as that is. I mean, all of us are right here, and we know what missions are coming up, for the most part. We don't have other bases that could be sending people on missions that the other bases wouldn't know about. But you do have that situation. You have multiple bases to coordinate and…" he stopped talking, as he considered something, before saying, "But that's for you all to work out; I just thought I'd point out that you might need more people who know than we would."

He cleared his throat, before adding, "Unless there is some specific reason that I need to know at some point, then I wouldn't have to be told, either. If we need someone else to have the information, for some reason, then I'm willing; however, I won't be insulted, if I'm not informed. As I said, though, if you feel you should have an extra person, then I'm fine with that, too."

"I agree, with Daniel Jackson. There is no reason, for me to have all of the information. If it affects me and my team, then I would expect to be told, but if you wish to decrease those who are privy to the information, I will not be insulted either."

"Thank you, Daniel, Teal'c. That is something that can be decided later, but I do appreciate your frankness and willingness to allow the information to remain unknown to you," Jolinar assured them, before turning to watch the others. She could see both Per'sus and General Hammond thinking over her solution. She could not see any flaws that she missed, but she knew there might be one or even more. If so, then they would no doubt find them.

Finally, General Hammond, agreed, saying, "It would be worth a try. It would minimize the danger of someone giving away classified information, since only the six of us would know which Tok'Ra were where and when. And that road runs both directions. The same thing holds true for the Tok'Ra."

Per'sus was nodding his agreement. "I believe this is true, General Hammond. It is a good idea and should be considered, as a way that we could exchange information, and yet, not put our operatives and scouts into unnecessary danger."

Martouf came fore, and gazing from one to the other of the two men, he asked them, "Should not we be taking some of this information down, so that we will have a record of that upon which you have agreed? It will make it much easier, when we go to write up the formal agreement. I believe that, if Daniel and I both keep an account, then we can compare what each of us believes the agreement was. That way any discrepancies can be worked out, as soon as we discover it."

Everyone at the table stared first at him and then at one another. Both Per'sus and General Hammond realized that Martouf was correct in his question. They were making decisions, as if they had already agreed to form an alliance. They both nodded slowly, as they turned their faces to one another. Looking away from Per'sus, to the clock on the wall, for just a moment, General Hammond realized how very late it was becoming.

As he returned his gaze to the Tok'Ra's, he was surprised to hear him saying, "Yes, I believe that would be an excellent idea, Martouf, if the General is agreeable."

General Hammond, answered swiftly, agreeing, "That seems to be the prudent thing to do, before we get too much farther into laying the groundwork. Do you wish to continue tonight, Councilor Per'sus?"

Per'sus shook his head. "I do not believe so. I am aware that Jolinar has much more to tell us and to explain; however, I think that, as late as it is growing, we should adjourn for tonight. I suggest that we return to our bases for now and check to see how the moves are progressing. When would you wish to continue this discussion, General Hammond? I feel that this is important enough that I will reschedule my appointments, whenever you wish to resume. I believe that the world that I am on is trailing your world by about an hour or so. Eight is not too early for me, though, so nine your time is fine." He turned to Garshaw and asked, "Do you happen to know the time of the new world you have moved to?"

"No, I am sorry, but I do not know with any certainty. For some reason I believe that it would be ahead of the Tau'ri, but I cannot tell you by how much."

Malek turned to him, revealing what he knew, telling him, "I believe that they are perhaps two hours or so ahead of Earth. We are fortunate that we are all on worlds where the time difference is minimal."

General Hammond nodded, asking, "Would you like to continue tomorrow? I can clear my calendar easily enough, too, if you are available." He received nods from Selmak, Garshaw, and Malek, before he turned to look at Per'sus.

Per'sus nodded, and then stood. Garshaw, Selmak, and Malek followed suit, listening, as he agreed to the General's suggestion. "I agree. When would you like to begin?"

"Your suggestion of nine o'clock will be fine with me. I'm usually here by seven, so nine will give me time to clear my calendar and take care of any base business that must be handled. I look forward to seeing you and continuing our discussion."

Per'sus bowed slightly, assuring him, "As do I. Until tomorrow, then."

As the Tok'Ra left and headed toward the Gate room, the General returned to his seat and reached out his hand for the phone that was the direct line to the President. He was glad that he had something positive to report.

As Daniel and O'Neill led the group out of the Briefing room, Garshaw turned to O'Neill asking him, "Do you not have a dialing device here? How do you dial the gate without one?" Then recalling one of her earlier conversations, she turned to Teal'c before they could answer, asking, "Is that not what you were telling me about today, Teal'c? That Major Carter actually made a dialing device to activate and command the Chaappa'ai?"

Teal'c nodded, and you could see his pride in his teammate, even through his stoic demeanor. "It is." His answer was both brief and succinct.

Jack grinned, as he added, "Yeah, we slapped a little one together. Or rather, as Teal'c told you, Carter figured out how to do it."

Garshaw looked at him speculatively, before murmuring, "Hmm, you actually did make it yourselves. That is indeed impressive. Will you show it to me? I would like to put in the coordinates myself." And then she added, "And that way I can see it, since I must admit that I am quite curious." She gave both O'Neill and Teal'c a slight smile.

Hearing her, Daniel made a turn toward the Control room. Once there, they all watched, as she input the glyphs, for what they assumed was either a safe world or her new homeworld. Daniel asked, "Are you all going to the same base? Will you be coming back together or do you need more GDOs?"

"Yes, we will all go to the same base, as I may wish to discuss something with a couple of my council members that reside on Garshaw's base. As for tomorrow, I see no reason why we cannot return together, so one should be sufficient," Per'sus answered him.

Daniel nodded his understanding and looked over to ask one of the airmen to get a GDO for them, only to see one walking in the Control room door carrying several. She smiled at him, saying, "I thought you might need some of these. I figured, if it turned out that you didn't need it, I could always return it."

Daniel smiled at her, and took the proffered GDO, saying, "Thank you, Sergeant Wyman. I appreciate it." He opened the paper she'd handed him, with the device, and nodded, as he saw the code. One more thank you smile in her direction, and then he and O'Neill took the lead, heading toward the Gateroom. Once there, he gave the GDO to Malek, since he had used one already. The others wanted to know how it worked, though, so listened carefully as he gave him a refresher on how to use it.

As the event horizon formed leaving the beautiful blue pool, Selmak gave control to Jacob, who turned to Sam and gave her tight hug. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sam," he told her. Then as the others moved toward the ramp and away from the two of them, he leaned in and whispered, "I think you're going to pull it off, Sam, and you haven't even told them what the prize is. I don't suppose you'd tell me, if I promised not to tell?"

Sam smiled at her father, but shook her head, as she told him, "No, but you can tell Selmak that sometimes wishes do come true."

He sent her a brilliant smile, gave her another hug, and trotted up the ramp to where the others waited. As he stepped up to the event horizon, he turned back and sent her a brief and cocky salute, as he called to her, and the rest of SG-1, "See you in the morning." Then he turned and stepped into his future. The one his daughter gave to him. He would have to thank her in the morning.

TBC**_  
_**


	27. Going Forward Ch 27 AAOF

_**Chapter Twenty-seven Summary: **The Tok'Ra have a short discussion, deciding to add one more councilperson to the inside core of the High Council. Martouf's behavior becomes confusing, Sam verbally remodels their rooms, and a discussion between them brings light to their relationship…along with a truly 'satisfying' conclusion to their discourse. _

_**Take With You My Love – The Blending of Martouf and Lantash – **Near the end of this chapter there are two conversations which allude to events that take place both before and during the story listed: **Take With You My Love.** It is posted here on ff dot net, on my website, and on Symbiotica. It is **not** necessary to read it, in order for the conversations to be fully understood…they are pretty much self-explanatory. _

_I've included this information solely for the purpose of making the story's whereabouts available so that anyone who would like to know more about what happened before Lantash and Martouf blended, during their blending, and directly after their blending, would know that information is available in story form both here and the two other places. _

_Should any of you wish to read it, I would appreciate feedback on it very much. Of course, the same holds true for this story, as well. Feedback is always both needed and appreciated. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

_**Mer Cariad kea – **My Dear One_

_**Mer Prinekh - **My Lifemate, a term of endearment between Symbiote and Host. It can be translated as meaning something like Beloved Lifemate or Sweet Lifemate. _

_**Mer Ma'tae Kea – **My Cherished One_

_**Author's Note: **Chapter Twenty-eight will not be posted on this site, as it is M+ with no way to edit it, since the entire chapter is that way. It will detract nothing from the story to leave it out, as it does not move the story forward in any way. So, the chapter after this one will be Chapter Twenty-nine. Just thought I'd let you know so that when it happens you don't have to wonder where that chapter went. Pagan_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Twenty-seven**_

_**Going Forward**_

* * *

The four Tok'Ra stepped out onto the world that now housed Garshaw and Selmak's new base. A guard came forward, but seeing who it was, she simply bowed and melted away from them. This one had trees, grass, and probably running water. It was a nice change; Garshaw just hoped they would not soon be moving to yet another one. Only time would tell them that.

"Do you wish us to meet you here tomorrow, Garshaw?"

"Yes, that will be fine. Should we take any other High Council members with us?"

Per'sus sighed. That was a good question, and he was not sure what to do.

Before he could make a decision, Malek, suggested, "I believe that Anise should be included. She, too, is very astute and, like Lantash and Martouf, lies and subterfuge rarely get past her. Of all the other Council Members, I believe that she would be truly objective." It was Malek's turn to sigh, but his was in something close to frustration and defeat as he considered the other High Council Members. "Of course, Ma'ashat, Apashe, Lustesh, and Kintash are also quite astute, and each has the ability to be objective. Thoran, on the other hand, I would not ask to go. I do not completely trust him, as you know. He is too eager to push forward Delek and his sub-council members." He stopped talking, as he rethought his suggestion, before adding, "I still think that if we are to only add one more, it should be Anise."

Per'sus gave that some thought, before nodding his head in agreement. "I believe that you are probably correct, Malek. Can one of you talk to her tonight, so that she will be ready to go in the morning? You will need to tell her everything we have learned thus far."

"I will do so, Per'sus. She will probably be in a lab. I assure you that I will explain what is occurring, and what we believe that we should do. I will be very sure that there is no way in which we could be overheard by anyone."

"Very well, Malek. I will not go with you, now. I need to spend some time on my own base so that I can take care of anything that came up, during my absence, and make arrangements for tomorrow."

"Then we will see you in the morning. Good-night, Per'sus."

"Good-night. All of you need to get some rest as well." Bowing slightly to the other three Tok'Ra, he turned and walked to the Dialing Device, while they continued on to the ring transporter. It was time for all of them to take their own advice and get some rest.

* * *

Martouf and Lantash turned toward Sam and Jolinar. "Are you ready to return to your quarters, now?"

Sam nodded and waved at Daniel, O'Neill, and Teal'c, as they all left, heading toward their own quarters. They walked in companionable silence, until they reached their quarters. Sam opened the door and walked in leaving the door open behind her. When she didn't hear Martouf's footsteps following her, she turned around to find them standing outside in the hallway.

Blurting out the first words that came to mind, she asked, "What are you doing, Martouf?" Well, duh, Sam, that was a stupid question. Obviously, he's standing in the hallway. "I mean, why are you standing out there? Did you forget something?"

Looking embarrassed, Martouf looked down at the floor, before lifting his head and looking at her instead. After an obvious hesitation, he raised his head and looked at her, saying, "No, Samantha, we have forgotten nothing. It is simply that I, we, are not sure…" his voice trailed off, and he looked decidedly uncomfortable.

Sam walked back to him until she was standing no more than two feet from him, and cocking her head she looked at him quizzically, before questioning his hesitance, "What's the matter, Martouf? Have I done something that has upset you and Lantash?"

"No!" He answered immediately, the word an explosion of honesty. "No," His answer was much more quiet the second time. He sighed heavily, speaking softly, "Samantha…" again his voice appeared to desert him, and he glanced uneasily down the hall.

Sighing herself now, Sam shook her head and reached out, clasping his wrist and pulling him forward. He moved stiffly over the threshold, looking as if he wished to bolt back through the door that Sam was now closing. Apparently, there was a problem; she just had no idea what it was, if they weren't upset with her and Jolinar.

He stood exactly where she'd left him, looking around the room, as if hunting for a place of safety or a hole in which to hide, as if she was going to attack him or something. Okay, this was ridiculous.

"Martouf, sit."

Martouf looked surprised. "Samantha?"

She asked whatever Gods and Goddesses that might be listening for patience, before pointing at the sofa, and once more telling him, "Sit." She stood staring at him, brooding over his odd behavior. He didn't move, but remained standing in front of her looking extremely uncomfortable and unhappy. Goddess, all she wanted was a bath, some lovemaking, and sleep, in that order. Jolinar began to tell her what she thought was going on, but Sam stopped her. _"Not yet, Jolinar. We are going to go take a shower, and we can talk, while we do that. Why hasn't Lantash taken over, if Martouf is having some type of problem?" _

"_Martouf will not give him control. The only way he will allow it is, if we request it." _

"_Ah. Something tells me that our upcoming conversation is going to be very interesting. So, for the time being, if Martouf has control, then Lantash has no recourse, but to stay quiescent, and follow Martouf's lead, whether he agrees or not. Okay. Here goes." _

"Martouf, I'd like to speak to Lantash, please," Sam, informed him firmly.

He looked at her in surprise, and then frowned, before agreeing quietly, "Very well. As you wish, Major Carter."

Sam's eyebrows raised and Jolinar giggled within her mind. _"I believe that you have surprised and annoyed him, my Sam." _

"_Yeah. I get that impression myself. He gave us Lantash, though, and that's the main thing right now. I'm not sure what's going on, but I have a feeling that there's going to be a talk, as soon as we both shower and they return." _

"_If you do not tell Lantash to return, they will not. Martouf will not allow him to, at least, not until he falls asleep, and Lantash can come back here. And that, of course, will be pointless, as far as being able to have a discussion with Martouf." _

Sam frowned again, before finally saying, _"Okay, I'm going to tell Lantash that I want him to keep control, come back here, and to wait, until we are together, before giving control back to Martouf. There's obviously something that needs discussed, and since Martouf wouldn't return to talk, it's up to Lantash to see that he comes back here. That okay with you, Jol?" _

"_Absolutely. Of course, Martouf will be insulted and hurt, but he will get over it, once we have our talk, and he realizes what a dolt he is being. I am always amazed that a man who is so articulate, intelligent, and astute, with so much percipience, insight, and understanding can change in such a drastic way, when he enters one of his self-induced bouts of mega-guilt. Which, I will add, he has decided to wallow in, because he has decided, for some obscure reason, that he has overstepped the bounds of his honor and "that which is right and true", because he 'allowed' them to be overruled by his libido. Martouf can, upon occasion, be an incredibly lamebrained, dimwitted, imbecilic, twit. It is sad, but true." _

It was Sam's turn to giggle, but instead of keeping it between herself and Jolinar, she giggled aloud. Lantash raised his eyebrows, asking, "Is there something amusing you that Martouf and I should know, Samantha?"

Sam shook her head and sobered instantly. After all, she really didn't want to antagonize either of them. She just wanted, as she'd wished for earlier, a shower, lovemaking, and sleep.

She shook her head, telling him, "No, sorry; Jolinar reminded me of something, and it just struck me as funny. It had nothing to do with you or Martouf," the lie rolled easily off her tongue, before she continued talking to him, "Now, the reason I asked to talk to you, is that Jolinar told me that Martouf was probably keeping you prisoner, for whatever reason. So, since I want to talk to him, and he evidently doesn't want to talk to me, I'd like for you to ensure, even if you have to keep control, that you return here, make yourselves at home, and wait for us, if we're not out of the shower yet, if you wouldn't mind. Please."

"_Lantash, you will not agree to this outrageous request. Do you hear me? In fact, you will give me control now. At once." _

Lantash did not answer either of them right away, as he thought about the two requests. He was fairly sure that Jolinar knew Martouf well enough to have read his actions correctly. Well, it was evident that she had, since she knew that Martouf would not give control over, without a personal request from one of them. Weighing Samantha's request against Martouf's, he decided that he would rather Martouf be upset with him, for a short time, than have Samantha angry with both of them. That would not help their attempt to become closer to her. Besides, he thought that they needed to talk, as well; therefore…"_I am sorry, Martouf, but in this instance, our mate's request must override yours." _

Martouf sputtered in outrage, but Lantash ignored him, as he answered Sam, assuring her, "I will do as you ask, Samantha. Martouf will be highly upset by this; however, I feel that you are probably correct, and only by discussing his concerns will he feel more comfortable with, and within, our situation."

Sam nodded at him and turned toward the bathroom, saying over her shoulder, "Thank you, Lantash. Use the connecting door and leave it unlocked, as it is now, so that you can simply come back, whenever you're ready to return." She stopped and turned back toward him, when she reached the door, telling him, "We'll discuss moving your things in here, later, too. We'll have to collect them from the base, since I assume your things were moved with everything else. Jolinar assures me that they would have been, along with her things, if you kept any of them."

"Anyway, I'm sure that we can get General Hammond to agree to allow us to make your room into a living room, and put an electric stove in the kitchenette, so that it will be a living-room and kitchen leaving this room, as our bedroom." She looked around, deciding things, before saying, "We can turn the kitchen area in here into a closet, and the sitting area into a computer sitting-room type of thing. But that isn't what I wanted to talk about; let's both get going, so that we can get the other stuff out of the way, first. Then we can talk homemaking."

It was just as well that Lantash was too stunned to answer, since she entered the bathroom swiftly and quickly closed the door. Martouf was still in shock, but Lantash shook himself out of his own dazed astonishment and turned to follow her requests. He crossed to the connecting door with long, firm strides, going straight to the shower and turning it on, before stripping out of his clothing. Then he grinned to himself. Samantha was planning their future together. He had known that she and Jolinar knew that they would be remaining with the SGC if it was approved, but she had not actually said the words; we will be living together, and not in adjoining rooms. The entire idea now enthralled him.

Samantha wanted them in her and Jolinar's life in a very permanent way. After their last unhappy parting from one another, all of the previous missions and extended partings, their last three long years of being parted, thinking her dead, after all that, perhaps, at last they would be together. They would spend their nights together, their mornings, their missions, all of those things that they had longed to do for so many years. And, their new mate would be with them.

His eyes widened, and he caught his breath, for a moment, at the surge of emotion he felt, as he thought of Samantha. His love, and Martouf's as well, was growing at a rate that was almost alarming. In all of his two thousand years, had he ever fallen in love with a new host this quickly? Usually it took weeks, if not months. It had only been a few days. He almost sat down in the shower, but instead he finished washing first his body, and then his hair. He stepped out, drying himself before turning to comb his hair. He could feel the almost panic-stricken emotions roiling through Martouf and released some calming substances into his blood stream.

What did this mean? Why was he falling for Samantha Carter so swiftly…and he might as well admit the remainder of his epiphany…deeply in love with his new mate? Was she the one he had always heard talked of, but never found? Did her blending with Jolinar form, for him and Martouf, the one woman in the universe, who could complete their souls? It was a terrifying, yet exhilarating thought. According to the legends, if she was the one that would complete and blend their souls together, then she would age even more slowly than she normally would, and Martouf, too, would live longer.

The entire concept was still terrifying, but he was also beginning to feel elation and excitement along with the disbelief and terror. As the emotions coursed through both of them, it was all he could do not to burst into the other room and drag them onto the nearest surface, then mate with them, until none of them could move.

But how did you find out? He would have to see if he could find more about it in their history archives. Anise might know. She kept the archives along with several others, and she enjoyed doing it a great deal, although, she was also a scientist and enjoyed and excelled at that, too. Therefore, if anyone would know about the legends, it would be her. And regardless that they often stood on opposite sides in debates, he respected her and her host, Freya, and she respected him and Martouf. She would help him; he knew she would. Furthermore, it was time to put these thoughts aside for the moment. There was nothing they could do at this time, except monitor how quickly and intensely their love for Samantha grew.

One more thought found its way to his mind and heart, though. When all of these problems were settled, and they were living together, then they would formally bond, and perhaps, even marry by the Tau'ri ceremony, if Samantha desired it. Their path going forward looked brighter than it had in a very, very long time.

"_Lantash, if this is true, then does that mean that Samantha will learn to love us swiftly, as well?" _He could feel his anxiety begin to build again, as he examined his emotions regarding Samantha. As Lantash had stated, they were terrifying feelings, but they were also wonderful, and enticing.

Lantash sighed, as he told him, _"I do not know, Martouf. I have not heard or read the legends in many centuries; not since I was quite young." _Then he stopped and stood still, as distant and long past memories filled his eyes. Looking back, he could not believe that he ever deemed himself in love with that woman. His first infatuation, he supposed and he was thankful that she did not choose to blend and was instead disgusted and appalled by what he was. Yes, he was inexpressibly thankful for that.

Martouf nodded, before telling him, _"I have not mentioned it, but I have had a few episodes such as the one you just experienced, but each time you were either asleep or dormant. I am so glad to know that you, too, are feeling them and are not alarmed or opposed to them, for I do not believe that either of us could stop this love from growing. However—I would like to keep this to ourselves until we can find out more about it, if you do not mind. I mean, not that we love her, but the—the intensity with which it enters our minds, hearts, and bodies when we think of her." _

"_I agree, Martouf." _He finished with his last boot and turned to the connecting door, saying, _"Besides, I believe that you have some explaining of your own to do, and then you have some listening to do, before you are thoroughly chastised and castigated." _

Martouf grimaced and then frowned at his Lifemate. _"I have done nothing for which I should have those things heaped upon me. I have legitimate concerns. We forced Samantha to become intimate with us much too soon. We should have waited, until she could become much more familiar and comfortable with us. She should have had time to know us, to become friends with us first, before we took her to our bed. We should have spent hours making love to her without the culminating act so that she would learn us and we her. I so wish we had not coerced her into mating with us." _

Lantash remained standing before the door as he listened to his Lifemate moan about his perceived failures and too eager responses caused by his appalling lack of honor and lack of self-control. Then he listened, as he admitted to his growing love for his new mate again…and again. When he began about how their lovely new mate would hate him forever for taking her, when she did not want to have to mate with them, Lantash grew exasperated, opened the door and entered…their new bedroom.

He glanced around the room before he realized that he could hear the shower running. He moved to the kitchenette and thought about putting the coffee on, but decided against that for this evening. Instead, he found the unfinished wine they had shared the night before, and taking down two small glasses, he poured some in both. He turned to the room and looked to see if anything needed to be accomplished before they readied for bed. Then he walked to the bed and turned the covers down on one side, before turning the lamp down to its lowest setting. He looked around again and nodded. Yes, it looked much more like a room in which a seduction would soon take place. Satisfied with his efforts, he sauntered back to the sofa and made himself and his host comfortable, as he drank their wine. He leaned his head back and rested it on the sofa as he gave a sigh of contentment. It should not be much longer now.

While Lantash bathed in the other room, Sam mirrored his actions in her, no, their, bathroom. _"It is acceptable to use the singular when thinking or even speaking about us, Mer Prinekh. We appear as one being to others and, as time passes, we will come to know one another so well, that when you speak of one, most of the time, you will be speaking of both. So whether you think or say, 'my' bathroom, or 'our' bathroom, it is understood and correct." _

Sam sent her a smile, dropped her underwear, checked the water temperature, stepped into the streams of water, and moaned at how very good it felt to just stand there. After a short period of almost hedonistic bliss, she turned her thoughts to what she needed to find out about Martouf's rather, well, very, unusual behavior.

"_All right. What's with Martouf and his bewilderingly weird, odd, and approaching bizarre interaction with us just now? Is he, um, is he deciding that he doesn't like me or…want me? Is it still too soon, after Rosha I mean, for him to accept a new mate?" _Sam finally voiced her main fear; the idea that he couldn't accept and didn't want her.

Jolinar sighed in her mind, before telling her, _"No, Mer Cariad kea, trust me, it is not that. If Martouf has one fault that I fervently wish he would lose, it is his ability to convince himself that he has done something that is not only dishonorable, and contemptible, but also, completely unforgivable. We can almost always suspect that it pertains to us and, of course, to some behavior, action, deeds, or words on his part, that he finds reprehensible, deplorable, and certainly indefensible." _

"_Knowing him as I do, if I was requested to speculate, and then, hypothesize what has caused his current lapse into lunatic absurdity, I would predict that he has probably convinced himself that you were forced into mating with them. He knows, without a doubt, that he is at fault because he did not stop Lantash, when he initiated this horrific act upon your person. He is absolutely sure that his licentious, iniquitous, and shameful, descent into depravity will be the reason that you will A. never speak to him again, B. hate him, C. leave him and Lantash, possibly forever, or perhaps, D. all of the above." _Jolinar laughed, at Sam's appalled reaction, before reassuring her, frankly, _"While most of my previous rhetoric was me exaggerating wildly, my Sam, there is also an underlying strain of truth, within my words." _

She sighed deeply, before she continued, her voice solemn now_, "It is true that I enhanced my description of his emotions and beliefs, with overblown hyperbole. The probable truth is that after much agonizing over his and Lantash's conduct, he has almost certainly convinced himself that they did not give you enough time to come to know them, before they 'coerced' you into mating with them. He is not listening to Lantash, and he will not voluntarily give him control, at least for a time, which is why you had to ask to speak to him." _

_Martouf has convinced himself that Lantash would 'persuade' you to mate again, something that he is absolutely sure you do 'Not' wish to do. He has also talked himself into believing that "I" might be unduly influencing you, and causing you to wish to mate, as well, even though you positively do 'Not' 'truly' wish to do so. He is sure that you have been pressured by the three of us into having sexual relations prematurely, and that you are now regretting it utterly. Which is, without a doubt, entirely his fault, for not putting an immediate stop to our, and his, constraint and influence on you." _

"_Furthermore, of course, his keeping Lantash from being in control and thus keeping him from you, will bring about yet another bout of excruciating mental scrutiny and censure of himself because of his disgraceful, unpardonable, Goa'uld-like actions." _

She sighed again, before explaining, _"His culture was not sexually repressed; however, they often 'courted' anywhere from a week or so to several months, before they mated. Bonding was not necessary, but closeness, trust, and friendship were, unless visiting a" _she searched Sam's mind of the correct word, _"brothel. Their brothels catered to both men and women, so there was no expectation of virginity. They did have fleeting one night matings, but they were not the norm, for most of the people. He believes that you are only mating with them because, as their mate, you feel that you 'should' do so. He can be an intense pain in the mitka when he decides to wallow in self-recriminations. _

Sam moaned back at her, _"You have Got to be kidding me. Jolinar, what in the world would make him believe something that stupid? No, never mind, I understand. Two days is not long enough for me to be comfortable with opening my body to them. Even though I love them because you do, as well as for myself, 'and I even told them so', he sees it as a violation of me, and possibly even my mind, since he believes that you've 'convinced' me that I want them. Jeeze, what an idiotic thing for him to believe." _

"_You said that he won't listen to Lantash. When he gets this way, does Lantash even bother to try to talk sense into him? I would think that after this many years together, he would just sigh and go to sleep or something, until Martouf gets over it." _

Jolinar laughed softly. _"You are very close to being correct, Samantha. Lantash will sometimes attempt to reason with him; however, if Martouf is being particularly stubborn, he will just give up and either sleep or become dormant, until I can reason with Martouf." _Jolinar paused and a grimace passed across her face, before she returned her attention to Sam, telling her, _"Please do not take my complaining too seriously, Mer Prinekh, for I do love him. Of course, you can feel that from me, so I suppose I should not be concerned that you might believe that I think less of him. As you can feel, I love him both deeply and passionately, and I have done so for almost a hundred of your years." _She laughed softly once more, adding,_ "Even when he is being the pain in the mitka that he can be."_

She paused, for just a moment and then she confessed, _"Samantha, I have been keeping much of the love that I hold in my heart for Martouf and Lantash suppressed, and thus away from you. I wished you to come to love them for who they each are, rather than because I love them, and I can tell that you do love them…more and more each time you are with them. I can feel this love radiate from you, and it bathes me in relief and contentment. Soon, I will release all of my own pent-up love that I hold for them. But you must understand, my Sam; the love I feel for them is deeper and more intense than what I have felt for any other mate I have ever had. I do not know why it is so much deeper than others I have felt, but it is. That is all I can tell you." _

"_Thank you for telling me. The truth is that the emotions I feel for the two of them are kind of—well, they're sort of—I think" _she swallowed nervously, even though their conversation was taking place within their minds, "_they're scaring me. I've never felt a love like this before, either; I've never felt emotions this intensely, ever. It's like it's trying to consume me, even though, it also makes me feel whole, as if part of me that was missing has returned to me. I don't believe that you are causing it, either. I believe that this is coming straight from me, my heart. I—do you think we can combine our love for them yet, or should we continue to wait?" _

Jolinar gave a sigh of relief, before she told her, _"I am sure that it is from you, Samantha, for I have felt it grow within you. As for combining our love, I believe that we could do so, but I am not sure we 'should' do so yet. Perhaps, we should wait, until we have the many objectives we now have in process completed. I feel strongly that, once we blend our love of them, we will wish to spend a few days locked in our bedroom with them, and at the moment, we cannot do that." _

"_You're right. We very probably will want to do that," _it was Sam's turn to sigh, yet again,_ "so we'll wait on events." _Then her thoughts became distracted, as she realized what she'd done."_Damn. I didn't bring my nightclothes in here." _She turned the water off, stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel for her body, and wrapped it around her, before reaching for the one for her hair. Opening the bathroom door, she blinked. The lights were low, there was some very soft slow music on, and she could see Martouf and Lantash relaxing on the sofa with a glass of wine in their hands. She smiled softly as she gazed upon them, and then padded softly over to her dresser and slowly opened the very bottom drawer. Jolinar gasped in her mind.

"_Samantha, you have a treasure trove of nightwear in here. I would never have guessed that you indulged in sexy and frivolous negligees." _

Sam grinned at her and chuckled softly. _"Yeah, I know. It's one of my secret vices. Who's going to know what I sleep in? So, I enjoy myself, when I'm in the mood to do so. The other drawer, as you've seen, is my normal 'practical' sleepwear. So, in which mood are you tonight?" _She glanced over at Lantash where he was still almost lying down on the sofa. _"Is he asleep? If he is then he won't notice, if I take this stuff into the bathroom, right?" _

"_Yes, let us take some of these into the other room, so that we may make an informed decision." _

"_Okay, just let me grab a bag for them." _She stood, walked to the bed, and then knelt next to it. She reached under it, pulled out a fairly large bag, and returned to her dresser. She emptied the drawer's contents into the bag, before quietly making her way back to the bathroom. Her last glance at Lantash showed him still relaxed and seemingly asleep. She was fairly sure he was, or he would have come over to them, as soon as they walked in.

She shut the door and emptied the bag onto the vanity table. It was a riot of deep, dark jewel colors, with an occasional pastel, but not many. _"Okay, now then, for your mood." _Sam picked up one of the few white gowns and held it against her body, asking, "_Grecian?" Dropping it she asked, "Medieval or Arthurian? Georgian or Regency? I have a lot of different styles, colors, and fabrics." She picked up a deep, deep blue one and held it up to them. _

"_It is gorgeous, my Sam. The darkness of the blue makes it look as if it could hold the stars. It looks like the sky at midnight. Furthermore, it is beautifully made." _

"_These are all hand made by a woman I know on one of the worlds that we visit periodically. We found that we shared a love of beautiful nightwear. I take her enough material that she can make another one. She sews dresses for people on her world, too, so with the 'exotic' materials I take to her, she can charge more and that's how I pay for my nightgowns. Sometimes I take an extra bolt of some fabric that I know she'll like and that will definitely sell. She's extremely talented with a needle, as you can see. I'm glad that hers is one of the worlds with which we've set up trade agreements." _

Reaching out she picked up a very detailed gown that had embroidery and lace everywhere. _"How about Victorian?"_

"_And the purple and lavender one, Samantha? What era is it?" _

Sam smiled as she picked it up and held it up to her, for a moment before putting it back down. _"It's another Arthurian inspired gown." _

Sam reached out, pulled a black gown out of the pile, and held it up to her. It was pure sex appeal. The neckline plunged from shoulders that were bared to the edges of her shoulders where the material made its way down her arms, until the sleeves ended in points on the backs of her hands and then swept to the floor. The waist was fitted and it hugged every curve. The neckline plunged to just below mid-breast and was held together with delicate old gold lace that looked like chains. The skirt shimmered around her, the slits, which almost reached her hips, were hidden, until she walked, and then it flashed glimpses of leg. The back plunged much farther than the front and the same delicate old gold lace was used to lace across it. It ended just below the small of her back. One or two more inches and there would have been much more than back showing. A golden girdle wrapped low on her hips, and the ends hung down the side.

Feeling her Lifemate's reaction to it she asked, _"Do you want to try it on, Jolinar?" _

"_Yes. I believe that I do" _

It slid over her head, and down her body to wrap her curves and secrets in black satin and old gold lace. It was a truly sumptuous work of art, as the beadwork and lace that was spread haphazardly over it glimmered in the lighting. Sam folded the others and placed them on the empty top shelf of the linen cabinet. Taking a deep breath, she turned and opened the door.

Lantash was standing, now, after his brief nap. He was just straightening up, after setting his wine glass on the tabletop, when he heard the door open. He glanced over at it, and stood frozen in place, so stunned that for a few moments he quite literally could not move. He was glad that he had set his wine glass down, for he did not doubt that he would have dropped it. She was absolutely beautiful. He took a deep breath, as he stepped toward her. They met halfway, and Lantash reached out to caress her face gently. His voice was hoarse, when he finally spoke, "Dear Goddess, Samantha, I do not know if we can talk to you, with you looking like a Goddess yourself. You are the loveliest woman I have seen in many centuries. You take my breath away, and almost stop my heart. I tremble with my desire for you." His eyes burned into hers, as he slowly pulled her toward him.

Sam closed her eyes, as his lips worshipped hers, paying tribute to her. She could feel the desire pouring through him and into her, adding to her own, until she didn't know if she could withstand any more without destructing or melting. As his lips finally left hers, she looked up into his eyes, and he leaned over, placing his forehead against hers. He moaned deeply, took a very deep breath, and backed away from her. "Let us go sit upon the sofa, so that you can talk to Martouf. I believe that his stunned mind is finally beginning to function again, and he will be able to converse with you and Jolinar."

Sam stepped back as well, giving a sigh of resignation. "All right. I suppose he still has some hare-brained ideas stuck in his head."

Lantash smiled at Sam's remark, as Martouf conveyed his ongoing, and now thoroughly annoyed, displeasure to his Lifemate without saying a word.

Lantash answered him, but he used words, and they chastised him, _"You cannot blame Samantha, Martouf. You are the one that thinks she is unhappy and displeased with us, for mating with her. She does not feel that way, and regardless what you do, or say, she will not conform to your ideas of how she should respond to us. She, as I have pointed out, is from a totally different world than you, and her mores were influenced, at the very least, by the prevailing mores as she grew to adulthood. Now that she is an adult, she has chosen to keep the ones with which she agrees, and dispose of the ones with which she does not agree. I do not believe that we will find that a 'courtship' is necessary for her…nonetheless, you will not be satisfied, until she tells you so herself. I know I am beating my head against a brick wall in attempting to convince you differently." _

Lantash moaned to Martouf and to himself, as Sam made herself comfortable on the sofa. She was sitting at the opposite end from him, leaning back against the arm of the sofa, so that she could face them straight on. The problem was that the gown she was wearing was split to her hip, and it fell open to give a glimpse of naked skin where she would normally be wearing pretty underwear. She seemed oblivious of the fact that she had—well, sort of—flashed them, as she settled herself. Unfortunately, Lantash was not oblivious to it, and his body was screaming at him to do something about it.

Fighting to gain control of their shared body, he finally managed to accomplish it—as long as he did not look at her. His voice was grim as he told his Lifemate, _"If I am proved correct, and you are proven wrong, you may yet reap your reward, for not listening to me, and putting both of us through the fires of Netu. Tell me, Martouf, how certain are you of your beliefs?" _

"_I am sure, Lantash. I have given this a great deal of thought. She did not wish to mate with us. Why are you asking me that yet again?" _

"_All right. Then I will wager you that you are completely wrong, on all of your beliefs pertaining to Samantha's feelings about our mating. She did wish to mate with us. She loves us already, her love is her own, and it is not 'overly' influenced by Jolinar. She found nothing wrong with making love, after only two days acquaintance, and she enjoyed it. Furthermore, she is not now and she never was disappointed in us, for making love to her, disillusioned about us, or distraught over what happened between us. She is not angry with us over the situation, she does not hate either of us, she will gladly talk to us, and she will not leave and find another mate." _

Martouf scowled at him, but asked abruptly, "And what are you wagering?"

Lantash smiled at him, before he answered, _"If I am wrong, and any of the things you have decided to believe are true, I will give control to you, while we are mating with Samantha and Jolinar, for a Tau'ri month. I will still share it, as we always do, but I will not take control to touch her, in any way, during our mating. I am not saying I cannot touch her, at other times, it will only be during mating." _

Martouf's scowl deepened and he almost growled his response, before telling him, _"And I suppose that if you win the wager, and none of my beliefs are found to be true, then the opposite will be true, and you will be the one making love to our mates for a month. Correct?" _

"_That is correct. Well? Do you still feel as sure of your beliefs, as you did before, or are you willing to listen to reason for once?" _Lantash could feel Martouf's indecision and questioning of his reasoning. If he did not take the wager, then Lantash believed it would be a step forward for him. He was much too eager to see himself as the sole reason, for every bad thing that happened. He was also inclined to convince himself that he had caused hurt and disappointment to the women that he loved. He had lived with that long enough. It was time that he realized when he was working himself to that state, and began to curb it. Lantash believed that the fleeting glimpses of uncertainty, about how Samantha felt, that he had recently seen in his mind were a beginning.

Martouf looked at the end of the sofa when Samantha sat. Her position was alluring and provocative, but totally natural. She was not 'posing' for them. He forced himself to ignore that and look at her face. She and Jolinar appeared to be talking, and whatever they were saying was making Samantha both blush and laugh. So, in all likelihood they were talking about mating. That seemed odd to him. If Samantha was so terribly upset over what they did to her, would she not be avoiding all thoughts of it? And she certainly would not be discussing something that brought a blush to her cheeks—and, he noticed, a sparkle to her eyes. Now that he was studying her without allowing outside beliefs to color what he was seeing, he could also see a certain, eagerness(?), in her posture. There was no pensive sadness, no lingering guilt, no anger, and no disappointment. Actually, she looked—happy—yes, happy—and eager, relaxed, and appreciative of what she saw every time she looked his way. Her eyes lingered on his body, often a long way south of his face. As he watched her, she began staring at him again, and not at his face. She was staring at him and—he groaned to himself—she was licking her lips, as if she could not wait to taste him.

He jerked his eyes away from her, and then stared at the wall across from him, until Lantash moved them to the glass he set out for them, while their mates showered.

He brought his attention back in time to hear Lantash address her, "Would you care for some wine, Samantha?"

"Yes, thank you, Lantash, it sounds wonderful." She raised her eyebrows, as she asked him, "What is Martouf waiting for, Lantash? Or is he refusing to talk to us?"

"He is reconsidering his beliefs…I believe."

"Really? Well, according to Jolinar that would be a nice change from his normal actions, when he does this type of thing. She tells me that it can take hours to convince him that he is wrong. I wonder how long it will take me to get him to see the truth?" She sighed, and when she looked up at Lantash, her eyes were sad. Her voice was quiet and just as sad as her eyes, when she told him, "I don't understand him, Lantash. How could he possibly believe that I would lie about loving him, or about wanting him to make-love to me? What did I do that would make him believe it was too soon for me to want to make love with you two? Was it something I said? Something I did?"

Lantash's answer was just as soft as her questions had been, "You did nothing, Samantha. It is not your fault any more than it is mine. Martouf…Martouf's honor is very important to him, as mine is to me, but even though I have attempted to make him realize that he is a very honorable and worthy man, he still sees himself as the young man who couldn't save his family or his betrothed from the Goa'uld. When he becomes anxious about something, then he tends to fall back on the rules he followed then." Lantash shook his head. "That is such a lame explanation, but I do not know how to help you to understand the mental anguish he endured, during that time, or the changes it wrought in him."

"I have tried to be patient with him because of that, but," he shrugged, "I am about to give up and simply let him remain caught in the web of his past. I cannot change it, and I cannot change him, if he does not wish to change. To change this pattern of…of self-loathing he feels, and periodically acts out, for that is what I believe it is, when he does this, he will first have to forgive himself for living, when they all died, and then he will have to wish to change this behavior."

"I have tried for over one hundred years to help him to see that he had no chance of saving his family. That, if he had been there with them that day, then he, too, would have died. His death would have gained nothing, but much would have been lost, for those of his people that he saved would have died had he not been there for them, or they would have been ruled by the Goa'uld. If he had died that day, then I would have died, as well, for I would not have found a new host. I have also tried for over a hundred years to make him see what he does to himself and those who love him, when he lets his misplaced guilt overwhelm him, but I cannot force him to see it, or to change it. I do not know how much longer I can continue to try and fail."

"_Lantash has never spoken of this to me before, Samantha. It does explain much. If Lantash is correct, then Martouf goes into these bouts of placing blame onto himself over something much smaller in scope than the original cause. It still allows him to release some of the guilt and probably shame, both completely unwarranted, and at the same time, he also hears reassurance that, he is not a bad person in any way._ _I very much doubt that he has ever realized what causes him to act in this manner. Now that Lantash has explained it to us, I believe that I will be more patient with him, when he does this. I just wish there was some way that we could help him stop feeling so guilty over something that he could not stop." _

_She paused briefly, before telling Sam, "He was not at home, when the Goa'uld arrived. They killed everyone in the castle. He returned to find them all dead and Jaffa everywhere. He escaped with some rather bad injuries that, without treatment, would have killed him. Lantash's host, Justin, was injured fatally. Martouf accepted Lantash, and they have been together ever since then. Rosha…Rosha was the granddaughter of the old couple that helped them both, and when the survivors were moved to a different world, she chose to join the Tok'Ra instead of going with her family. They never met during their lives on their world, or at that time either other than to be introduced. However, several years later, we transferred to their base, we met, and we fell in love with them." _

"_I see. What a horrible thing to have to find." _Sam shivered, as she thought of that young man. He was alone, grieving, injured, and guilt-ridden. It must have scared his psyche deeply, for it still to manifest periodically over a hundred years later. Still, Lantash was right, too. He would have to want to change; want to believe that he was not at fault for his family's deaths. In the meantime, she guessed that they would just have to coax him into believing that they loved him, as he was, which in their eyes was honorable, good, intelligent, and caring. They trusted him completely.

"_Lantash…I—I will not take your wager. I realize now that I would lose. I have never known you to put those thoughts forward before…what you believed caused me to believe the things I convinced myself were real. The things that caused me to be so sure my beliefs were right, until I was proven wrong. Why have you not told me of this before now?" _

"_Because before now, you were not ready to hear me." _

"_What is so different this time?" _

"_I feel what you feel, if you do not block me out, as you are well aware. This is the first time that you remained open to me the entire time. Even when you were angry, you still remained connected to me completely, shielding and hiding nothing. Always before, you have shut yourself and your emotions away. This time, I could feel your doubts, as well as your desire to be proven wrong. I felt that, perhaps, after all of these years, you were finally ready to hear and listen to what you were doing to yourself and why. And, you were ready to finally forgive yourself, even though there is nothing to forgive." _

"_I see. Thank you for caring for me all of these years, Lantash. I am glad that you were finally able to breach my walls and help me find my way out." _

Lantash smiled slightly, before he answered, _"I did not breach your walls, although, I did help you to find your way out. Your love for Samantha and Jolinar is what breached your walls. You were afraid that what you were saying might actually become true, and you realized that your behavior could truly push them away. Even though you said you thought that they would leave you, I do not think you truly believed it. Then suddenly it was a real possibility, unless something changed. The thought of losing Jolinar again terrified you, and the thought of losing Samantha showed exactly how deep your love for her had already grown. That realization allowed you to choose to release the past and live in the present…with us." _

Martouf nodded slowly. _"I believe that you are probably correct, Mer Ma'tae Kea. You are probably correct." _After giving thought to what he should do next, he turned his thoughts back to his Lifemate._ "Lantash, would you assure Jolinar and Samantha that I am back in my right mind and am no longer delusional?" _He smiled wryly at him and explained,_ "I would like to spend some time just thinking about some things. Would you stay with them this evening and, well, just stay in control and love them for both of us?" _

Lantash did not answer him right away. He was not sure that he should allow Martouf to brood for hours over his past mistakes and his self-induced delusions. On the other hand, he did believe that he should think about everything and come to terms with it. Just because he now realized why he was acting in this strange way, did not mean that he had reconciled and accepted that he was not to blame for what happened to his family. It simply meant that the next time he went into an episode; he would realize why he was doing it…unless he actually did manage to release his guilt, in which case he would not do this again. _"Take some time to yourself, Martouf, but do not shut yourself away. If your mates wish for you to come fore and assure them that you no longer believe erroneous things about your relationship, and them, then you should be prepared to do so." _

Martouf nodded. Lantash's words were not unreasonable. _"All right. I will talk to them, if they want to talk to me. But, Lantash, it is getting quite late. Do you not think that we should all go to bed, before much more time passes?" _

Lantash looked over at their mates, and a slow seductive smile curved his lips. Perhaps Martouf was correct. It was getting late. Martouf felt he needed time alone. From the looks he caught on Samantha's face occasionally, late or not, she was not thinking about sleeping. If they mated, it would keep them from asking questions tonight, allow Martouf to think, and give them all pleasure. Yes, that was the path he should follow. He turned back to Martouf, telling him, _"Very well. You shall have this evening to yourself. I will form a quiet place for you, where you can think and will not be disturbed by the three of us. If you are still awake in two to three hours, then I will help you to sleep. I will attempt to keep our mates too busy to ask questions of you, for this span of time. And then we will all go to sleep, for tomorrow could be a very long day, once again. I will check upon you, after a while." _

"_Thank you, Lantash." _

Lantash looked at Samantha, and his desire burned him. Planning his seduction of her, as he watched her, before she was aware of his gaze, he returned, for a moment, to Martouf, to tell him, _"No, Mer Prinekh, Thank you." _

_TBC  
_


	28. A Step Closer Ch 29 AAOF

_**Chapter Twenty-nine Summary: **The Tok'Ra arrive at the SGC to listen to the remainder of what Jolinar has to report to them. She briefly explains what occurred and that they now happen to have a mothership that is looking for a new owner. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communications_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Twenty-nine**_

_**A Step Closer**_

* * *

Sam woke frowning, until she realized that the tickling on the small of her back was someone's lips. She opened one eye and saw BDU pants in front of her. Opening the other eye, she followed the view of the pants upwards, until they ended and a shirt began. The tickling was no longer annoying her, and the shirt and pants were holding out a cup of coffee. She forgave them at once, and sat up, reaching for the coffee, only to have it moved beyond her reach.

Martouf chuckled, as he leaned toward her, and murmured, softly, "I think that a kiss would be a fair payment for it, do you not, Samantha."

Sam smiled at him, before coming up on her knees, and then sliding her arms around their neck. Lightly caressing the back of his neck, she whispered, "I think it would be a suitable reward. Come and take your payment, Martouf."

Looking down at her naked body, as she kneeled before him, legs spread, arms lifted and around his neck, he audibly swallowed. Then, after setting the coffee on the bedside table, he sighed with regret and reached behind him, stopping her very talented caresses. Holding her hands in his, he pulled her toward him, until she toppled into his arms. He then kissed her thoroughly, before pulling back, with a sigh. His hands moved slowly up her back and into her hair. He pressed his forehead to hers, before stepping completely away, and telling her, "Lantash and I thought that we should allow you to sleep, as long as you could. Jolinar as well, since she and Lantash spent a few hours together after we went to sleep. The Tok'Ra need less sleep than humans, as I think you know. We no longer need as much as we used to, either, but" he smiled wryly, "we generally need more than thirty minutes."

Sam sat down on the bed and glanced at the clock, before jumping up and grabbing her cup of coffee. She had twenty–five minutes and from what her body was telling her, she needed a shower. She grimaced, as she felt moisture begin to make its way down the inside of her thighs. Reaching in and getting the shower started, she looked at her image in the mirror and gasped. Her eyes widened as she took in the matching love bites on her neck. And she remembered Lantash telling her that they only healed them if there was a mission where they need to be healed. Abruptly turning away from her likeness, she checked the shower and stepped into the warm water. She was sure that this shower was a record for her.

She hurried through the remainder of her abbreviated morning routine. As she exited the bathroom, she spied Martouf making the bed and, as he finished, she walked past him, shoving her cup into his hand, muttering, "More," as she continued on her way to the closet. Quickly grabbing her shirt and pants, she moved across the room to her dresser, and collected her bra, underwear, socks, and a t-shirt. She sat on the edge of the bed and reached for the fresh cup of coffee. It had an ice cube floating, but melting, in it. It was a perfect temperature for swallowing quickly and she finished it off even as she grabbed her underwear, while Martouf grabbed the empty cup and retreated to the kitchenette.

As Sam buttoned the last button, she glanced at the clock and smiled…fifteen minutes. It wasn't the fastest she'd ever showered and dressed, but it was pretty darn good. Going back into the bathroom, she used it, brushed her teeth, and fluffed her still damp hair. Thank goodness, Martouf had come over and combed it while she was putting her clothing on. At least, it wasn't sticking out at odd angles. Leaving the bathroom, she picked up her key card and turned to her mates. "Ready?"

Martouf nodded their agreement, and they made their way toward the briefing room, as the klaxon's sounded. The Tok'Ra were right on time. After pouring each of them another cup of coffee, they turned to the table and sat down next to each other. He no more than got seated, when he stood and made his way to a table he had just noticed. It had two large open boxes laying on it, and he smiled as he recognized the sweet 'doughnuts' that Teal'c brought with him on Sunday. He immediately reached out for two of his favorites and then added the ones that he remembered that Samantha had appeared to enjoy.

The Tok'Ra entered the room shortly after he returned to the table. The General waved to the boxes telling them to help themselves to the doughnuts, coffee, milk, juice, and water. They approached the table and peered inside the boxes. Deciding that these must be what the General was talking about, they determined that they were something to eat. Teal'c joined them, and helped himself to several of the round objects.

Malek got no farther than, "Teal'c…" before the Jaffa answered him, explaining, "These are the doughnuts. They are a very sweet food that goes well with coffee or milk." He proceeded to explain what they were, and with what they were either covered or filled. They listened attentively, as he described each of them. He pointed out several that he found particularly good. "I believe," he added, "that Martouf and Lantash prefer the glazed cinnamon twists, as well as the chocolate iced glazed." He pointed to each of them as he named them.

Deciding that so far, the Tau'ri's food had been good, Malek took the plunge and picked up a plate. Before he could change his mind, and while Teal'c was still there, he pointed to one and asked what it was. After the Jaffa explained it, he decided that he would try it. He liked apples and Teal'c mentioned them in his description. He then added one of the doughnuts that Teal'c had explained were 'cake' doughnuts, as opposed to the other, which were made with yeast and covered with a sweet glaze. He noted that they were larger around than the cake doughnuts. Deciding to try the yeast doughnuts, as well, he added one of those and made his way to Martouf and Lantash's side.

Martouf eyed his choices and nodded. "You will like all of those." He frowned slightly, adding, "In fact, I have yet to try one that I did not like." He appeared to brood about this for a few seconds, before his brow cleared, and he smiled at their friend. "Luckily, Lantash can take care of the extra calories and dispose of them. I understand that they are quite fattening. Samantha says that anything that tastes this good has to be fattening. It is a rule. I believe there is something amusing about the rule comment, but as of yet, I do not know enough of their slang and ways to understand it, other than to know that it is something they would find mildly amusing."

Malek nodded his understanding and bit into his sprinkle doughnut. After swallowing, he turned to Martouf, telling him, "You are correct. They are very good. At least this one is."

Martouf, much to Lantash's disgust, at his sharing of it, tore off a piece of their cinnamon twist and offered it to their friend. After trying it, Malek nodded. "Yes, I see why you and Lantash like that. You are particularly fond of this spice."

Martouf grinned, and continued to eat his cinnamon twist while listening in on the various conversations taking place around the table. Sam rolled her eyes at Malek's comment, but kept her opinions to herself.

"_Both Martouf and Lantash are overly fond of cinnamon, and Martouf is very fond of many sweet things, such as these doughnuts, and they will both enjoy the Tau'ri versions of 'cake'. If I am reading your memories correctly, then they will both also become quite fond of 'pie', and I believe 'ice cream' as well. From what I have seen, I also think that chocolate has been added to their favorites list of sweets, which is actually quite long. Lantash complains constantly of all the extra calories of which he has to dispose and how these sweets are not healthy, but he has as big an appetite for sweets, as Martouf does, he just prefers to allow Martouf to take the blame…and Martouf allows him to because he believes that grumbling, for Lantash, is an enjoyable pastime. He says that Lantash would not know what to do if there was nothing about which he could complain. I am not so sure that he is not correct in his beliefs." _ Jolinar finished her explanations about what she considered one of their mate's most endearing eccentricities. Sam couldn't help but smile and she agreed with her—until she realized that Martouf was eating his fourth cinnamon twist, which was by no means a small pastry.

"_Ah, Jol, does Martouf ever overeat sweets and get sick? Because he's heading for a stomach ache, if he continues at the rate he's going." _She glanced over at the box and noticed that there were only two of them left. _"Well, maybe not. He can't eat too many more. And I suppose, too, that Lantash would negate any nausea caused by too many sweets eaten so quickly." _

"_Yes, Lantash will take care of it, but hopefully that will not be necessary. There are, after all, as you noted, only two left. He would probably have to eat a dozen before they would make him feel ill." _

_Sam said nothing at first, as she assimilated that information and filed it away. Then she shook her head, asking, "A dozen? He can eat a dozen of those? No wonder Lantash gripes at him. Do you realize how many calories that would be? Not to mention the sugar high; add that to the caffeine, and he'd probably be bouncing off the walls without Lantash!" _

Jolinar laughed at the mental picture of Martouf bouncing from wall to wall, but there was no more time for conversation, as everyone finished their doughnuts, went to the restrooms to wash their hands, and refilled their drinks.

Once they were all reseated, Per'sus turned to Jolinar, and Sam gave her control, as he told her, "We decided to bring Anise with us. Malek explained the situation and reviewed what you have told us so far, so you do not need to go over it yet again. Please begin from the point at which we concluded the meeting."

While Per'sus spoke to Jolinar, Daniel got up quietly and made his way to Martouf. Knowing that Lantash might need to be in control, Daniel realized that Martouf would not be able to take written notes. He had managed to find three old recorders specifically made for use in meetings and lectures. He knew that there were much more technologically advanced recorders somewhere around the SGC, probably in some labs or offices, but he didn't have time to look for them, and he had known where to find these old ones.

Speaking very quietly, he told Martouf and Lantash what they were, and showed them how they worked. They agreed that it would be a much better way to keep track…if it was in their own words there could be no debate as to what was said. Anise, who was seated next to Malek, was quietly introduced to Daniel and then she handed him a small pyramid shaped crystal explaining that it would record the meeting as well. If she placed them around the room, they would then have a visual, as well as, an audio record of the proceedings. "Would your General Hammond object Dr. Jackson?"

Daniel shook his head. "No, I don't believe so, but we can ask now, before Jolinar starts her report." Glancing around the table, he realized that the others were waiting for them to finish their conversation. "They are waiting on us. I'll ask and we can get this set up."

Anise nodded her agreement and she and Daniel stood. "General Hammond, the Tok'Ra have a way to make a visual and audio record of the meeting. We just need to set these little things around the room, if you don't object."

"Not at all, Dr. Jackson. The security camera is also recording, but it's only one view."

"I've also got some old tape recorders to get a copy of the verbal part of the meeting. I'll put those around the table, too."

Jolinar smiled at them, before telling them, "Samantha is laughing. She believes that this will be one of the best-documented meetings ever held at the SGC. She has set up three laptops at strategic places around the room that are recording audio and video."

Sitting nearest to the General, Jack shut his legal pad, and gave it to the General, who did the same with his own. He then slid them into a drawer, stating, "I don't believe I'll bother to take handwritten notes. Somehow, they just seem sort of superfluous."

As everyone nodded in agreement, Anise finished setting the recording cubes around the room, and returned to the table, sliding into her seat. Daniel, too, finished his self-appointed task.

Lantash took control from Martouf and everyone looked at Jolinar. She looked back at each of them, and General Hammond reminded her, "I believe that the last thing they were told was that you, ah, picked up two motherships. So you can probably start from the point where you left the shipyard."

She nodded her agreement and began to explain the next steps they had taken. "We entered hyperspace right away, as our destination was quite a few hours away. The shipwright we managed to, ah, acquire, removed the tracking device, so we did not have to attempt to do that. He did his flight oversight, as we headed for our destination. I cannot remember if I mentioned it or not, but the ships were both so new that they had yet to have their first test-flight. Both of them were perfect without even the smallest problem."

"We all changed into BDUs, as soon as we were on our way. That was really K'haydan's, he is the shipwright, first true hint that we were not a highly placed Goa'uld, nor were the men Jaffa, and the women were not servants. He would like to talk to the Tok'Ra about the life that we lead, the pros and cons of blending, all of the usual questions. I did answer enough of them that he was aware of his options, as well as, his change in circumstances. At the moment, he is teaching the Tau'ri, so that they can build their own ships with which to fight the Goa'uld. He is also working on some global defenses."

She watched the confusion cross the Tok'Ra's faces. Why, they were asking themselves, was she going on about these two ships and the shipwright? She glanced at the General, and he nodded his head to indicate that she should continue. The Tok'Ra were waiting patiently.

"So, to make a long story shorter, the point is that the Tau'ri now own two motherships…one of which, complete with four Al'keshes, and a full complement of Death Gliders, is looking for a new home. Which means that it is looking for a new owner, as well. Do you know anyone that could use an almost brand-new Mothership?"

Per'sus's lips turned up in a small smile. "I believe that I might be able to find an owner for the Mothership. Is this part of the Tau'ri offer, Jolinar?"

"Yes, it is, along with access to the shipwright should you want or need him. It is a generous offer, Per'sus. Think about it. Earth is in dire need of defenses. They have no ships, and none of their earthbound defenses would be of any use against the Goa'uld. To give you a Mothership, four Al'kesh, and the Death Gliders, is more than most would do. There were those that did not approve of this use for them; however, they were overruled."

"If you wish to see it, we have left it at the Tau'ri's Alpha site with the other one. But enough about the ships. The entirety of the offer is something that can be gone into later, if there is a definite treaty and alliance in the offing. Therefore, I wish to finish my report. Our next mission was to rescue Sha'uri."

"Approximately twelve hours later we arrived at our destination. We had no trouble at all in rescuing Daniel's wife from her situation. It was a simple extraction. We posed as a minor System Lord and his Jaffa. The people all hid, as we hoped they would. We dressed Daniel in robes that passed as those worn by a priest, and walked, unchallenged, into Sha'uri's father's tent. Once there, Daniel announced himself, quickly explained the situation, and we returned to our Al'kesh, rejoined our ships, and proceeded into hyperspace and home to Earth.

"As you have no doubt realized long before now, Daniel's wife is host to a Goa'uld, and we need to request that the Tok'Ra do a service, for Daniel and Sha'uri, and remove her uninvited house guest."

Anise now joined the conversation, feeling that she was, as Malek assured her she would be, fully aware of what was taking place between the Tau'ri and the Tok'Ra. She felt confident in stating, "Of course, Jolinar. We would never refuse to remove a Goa'uld, as you know, whether there was an alliance in place or not."

"Yes, I am aware, Anise; however, there is slightly more at stake in this instance. Sha'uri is about seven to seven and a half month's pregnant—so the System Lords are hunting her. In fact, a Mothership dropped out of hyperspace, just as we were entering it. Had we been any longer, we could have had a very tricky and dangerous situation on our hands. As it was, we were in time, and we now have Amaunet."

At that announcement, the Tok'Ra all turned to stare at Daniel. Finally, Garshaw said, slowly, "Amaunet. You have Amaunet." She looked at Teal'c stating, "You said that Apophis had Dr. Jackson's wife. I have no idea why I did not realize that she was his queen. I must assume she is here, in a cell somewhere."

Jolinar responded, telling her, "No, not exactly. With Amaunet dormant, there is little chance we need to worry. We have been using the sleeping drug on her at night, so to insure she does not come out of dormancy and kill Daniel. Other than that, she is accompanied everywhere by two guards, and the 'not exactly' part is because, unless she is talking with security and intelligence gathering people, she prefers to remain in their room, while Daniel is working. So for several hours a day, she is more or less kept in a room, which, of course, she cannot leave, except through the door, but the remainder of the time, she is simply guarded, or Amaunet is drugged, so that she cannot leave her dormancy."

"The one thing we must be aware of is that should she leave dormancy long enough to ascertain where she is, and what is happening, she could decide that the child is expendable, and then attempt to escape us. We hope that we have circumvented her ability to do so, but, as you are very aware, to count on something like that would be foolish in the extreme."

Jolinar looked at Daniel, saying, "We are speaking of your wife, Daniel. I believe that you should be the one to make our offer, and set out any parameters upon which you will insist."

Daniel nodded his agreement and, after some organization of his thoughts, he told them, "Sha'uri remembers things that she's heard and seen, since she became Amaunet's host. At first, she fought her constantly, but she soon realized that, if she remained quiescent and pretended to be completely subjugated, she could hear some of Amaunet's thoughts. Once Sha'uri's actions convinced Amaunet that she was not a threat, Sha'uri started to whisper to her, and then retreat into what I'll call her vacuous mind pose. She found that whispered compliments, with Amaunet's Goa'uld sense of arrogance and ego, were the most likely to cause her to be less guarded and to leave her alone. And, as she became accustomed to Sha'uri's praise, she wanted to hear it more and more often."

"Sha'uri couldn't influence her on most things, but she learned how to push her in certain directions…I'm talking very minor stuff. The blue dress instead of the gold one; that kind of thing, she could do. It made her life…easier; I guess you would say. She is still able to access Amaunet's mind, even now, while she's dormant. Teal'c and I have worked with her, teaching her to meditate. The deeper her meditation, the more likely she is to be able to see things in her mind and have them be more than jumbled images." He paused, as if deciding what to tell them next.

When he reached his decision, he told them, "At the moment, she is going through a thorough debriefing with the SGC's security team and intelligence officers." He paused again, as if he was unsure if he wanted to tell them, or not, but again felt he had to tell them everything. It was part of what they were willing to trade, so he continued. Looking at Per'sus this time, he told him, "She's willing for someone from the Tok'Ra to attend, and ask questions, as well."

He paused to let that sink in, before telling them, "She's willing to cooperate, so if you do want access to her, you can have it…with conditions. I won't allow my wife to be badgered or mistreated, in any way. She's the host, not the Goa'uld, and she'll willingly tell you what she knows, but you can't get information that she doesn't have, and you can't use any methods that would hurt her. Our guys have been warned, and they have the same conditions on them. She has two personal guards who report on how she's treated, and, if any of the interrogators steps out of line with her, they know that they are out of here, and we'll take over the gathering of information. Maybourne had a chance at her with Jack and me in attendance. He was almost decent, once he realized that she really was in control and willing to tell them what she knew. He turned it over to the guys we have now after a couple of days."

"She's heard things both from Amaunet and Apophis, as well as visiting System Lords and contacts. They had no reason not to discuss things in front of her, so they were quite often fairly detailed. She's still accessing Amaunet's mind, too, so that's giving us more information." He shrugged, adding, "There are things that she remembers from them talking about it, as well as from thoughts from Amaunet, and sometimes, when she talks about one thing, she remembers something else, so it isn't like there's no point in talking to her."

"Anyway, you're welcome to talk to her, and you can have Amaunet, after she is removed from Sha'uri, with our compliments. Then you can do whatever you want to her. That's part of the offer, as well, Per'sus; access to Amaunet's mind, memories, and knowledge of the other System Lords, what rumors she knows, their strengths, their plans, whatever you can get from her, without hurting my wife."

Per'sus bowed his head in acknowledgement, as he told him, "We thank you, and we will be more than happy to remove Amaunet." He paused, before saying, "I do not know if you are aware of it, but the child that Sha'uri carries is called a Harcesis. While it is said that the child will hold 'all of the knowledge of the Goa'uld', that is untrue. However, it will carry many memories that are extremely unpleasant. We have had some success with blocking some memories, and we will do our best to do what we can to mitigate their affect."

"The memories alone will not make the child evil like its Goa'uld parents. All of the Tok'Ra carry many genetic memories that are…negative. However, with care, instruction, and guidance, the child should be able to handle them, especially if we can block many of them. However, it will be hunted, if it ever comes out that your wife was Apophis's queen, that she delivered his child, and that you are raising it. We will have to do our best to be sure that Amaunet disappears completely and that there is never a tie between the two of you. I would doubt very much if any of the Goa'uld are aware of the connection and we must do our best to keep it that way."

"Thank you, Per'sus. Jolinar told us some of that, but I'm glad to have your opinion of the situation, as well. I'm hopeful that no one ever makes the connection between us and Apophis's queen, too. The best we can do is keep her under the radar and away from anyone who might possibly know or perhaps recognize her."

"_Jolinar, what about using the memory recall device on Sha'uri? Would it cause problems with Amaunet? Could we give her the sleeping serum so that she wouldn't wake up during it? _Sam was following the conversation closely, but up until now had nothing to add.

Jolinar was thoughtful, as she contemplated Samantha's suggestion. _"It is a possibility, Samantha. It could help her to recall some of the things that she has forgotten. If the healers believe that it could be done safely, it is an avenue that we should explore. I will broach the subject." _

The comment about Sha'uri had everyone brooding on that possibility, so Jolinar decided that this was as good a time as any to ask about it. She didn't direct her question to any one person, wanting everyone to consider it, thus she garnered the entire table's attention, as she questioned them, "Could the memory recall device be used? What would be the chance of it bringing her out of her dormancy? Does anyone here know or do we need Daimesh or Arwanna to answer this question?"

She looked to Anise, as she sometimes helped the healers and might know more of this than any others would. She also frowned, as she thought back over her many years of being Goa'uld. As the others thought over her question, she began to go over her thoughts aloud so everyone could hear her ruminations. "Now that I am giving this more thought, I remember that both Ra and Apophis used it during interrogations to attempt to bring memories to the surface, however, only under a drug did it truly get some results. Without the drug, the Goa'uld simply refused to tell what memories they saw. Not even the viewing screen helped, since they could simply think of something else."

The more Jolinar thought about it, the more sure she became that it would work in this case. "I believe that it might be effective in Sha'uri's case. She is not attempting to hide anything; she is doing the opposite. So the only real question is whether it would disturb Amaunet enough to awaken her. If she was injected and placed in a deep sleep prior to trying it, she would never know, unless she later saw it used on her in Sha'uri's memories. We must hope that she would not be awake to see them, before we extracted her. Of course, if she does awaken, we can simply drug her, however, I do not believe that is a good route to go for an extended length of time. At the moment, we are only using it to ensure that she does not awaken at night. To use it twenty-four hours a day…I would definitely want Daimesh and Arwanna's opinion."

Anise nodded. "I agree, Jolinar. As long as we used it to keep her asleep, during the time the device was used by Sha'uri, it should not awaken her."

Daniel spoke up to remind them of the fleeting time and therefore danger to both the child and Sha'uri, "The longer this takes, the more chance there is that Amaunet will come out of dormancy, realize what's occurring, and start to take it out on Sha'uri. She'd also cause the death of the child. Is there a fairly good chance that this would speed the process up any? Because it's going along, but not what I'd call quickly. The sooner we get the information, the sooner Amaunet can be removed. I'm all for that happening ASAP, and, of course, so is Sha'uri."

Anise turned to Daniel, replying, "Yes, I believe that it could possibly prove helpful. However, I strongly suggest that we check with Arwanna and Daimesh about the sleeping drug you are using. The masking serum is safe to use twenty-four hours a day, so if it is based on that, it should be safe, nonetheless I would still prefer to check first, before we do it."

"So, that is decided. We will confer with Arwanna and Daimesh first, and if they feel it is safe, we will proceed to at least try it to see if anything useful can be brought forward more easily."

"_I believe that your suggestion is a good one Samantha. If it does bring memories more quickly, or even if they are more detailed, it will help. And if it does not make a difference, we can simply stop using it." _

"_Yes, I think so, too. If it speeds things up for them without causing harm, then it would be a good thing," _Sam agreed, and then turned her attention back to the short silence that had fallen, as each of them gave some thought to their discussion. She was in time to hear Colonel O'Neill ask Per'sus, "So…did you guys have operatives on Ra's ship, too?"

Per'sus shook his head, telling him, "We did not. Our operative who was there returned shortly before Ra was destroyed. Why do you ask, Colonel?"

"Oh, well, since you had operatives on Apophis's ships, when we destroyed them, I just, you know, was wondering if we'd done away with anyone else we shouldn't have."

The Tok'Ra, except for Lantash and Jolinar, stared at him. Finally, Garshaw asked, him, "We were aware that it was said the Tau'ri were responsible for his death, though not all believed that. Most of the System Lords did not, as it seemed impossible to them that the First World had advanced far enough to do so, and that belief is probably a very good thing. Are you saying that you are the actual ones that destroyed Ra?"

"Uh, yeah, we did that. Well, actually, Daniel and I were the ones that sent him the bomb that blew him up. We hadn't met Teal'c yet, and Major Carter was still in Washington, D.C. at the Pentagon. It wasn't until the program started again that she transferred into the SGC. So, yeah, the original group of us gave him that little present."

"I see. Then you, too, are Tok Ra."

Daniel stared at her for a moment, before muttering, "Of course. Tok'Ra. Tok Ra. Against Ra. Thank you for telling us that. I feel really stupid right now."

Glancing around at the other Tok'Ra, Lantash, told him, "Do not, Daniel. We say it, as if it was one word, which, of course, it has come to be over the years. You would have had no reason to believe that you needed to break it down into its components."

"That may be true, but I still feel stupid. Of course, that isn't the most important thing right now; the important thing is for Jolinar to finish her report, so that we can go onto other matters."

Malek smiled slightly, "That is true Daniel. Thank you, for steering us back to the main part of the conversation." He and the others looked at Jolinar expectantly.

Jolinar wasn't sure where to go next with the discussion. _"I think we just returned to the SGC with Amaunet, so the next thing is the trip to D.C. and our meeting with the President."_

"_You are correct, my Sam. I will proceed now unless you wish to relate some of this?" _

"_Nope, you're doing fine. Go ahead." _

"_Very well." _

"I believe that we have come to the part where we returned to the SGC with Amaunet, and a shipwright, after leaving the motherships at the Alpha site," Jolinar began her story again. "Once we returned we found out that we were expected to attend a ceremony in Washington D.C., and that the President of the United States wished to meet with us to discuss working toward an alliance."

"We flew there in one of their aircraft. It was—interesting—to say the least. At any rate, despite my doubts and continued offers to bring an Al'kesh for us to use now, we made it to their capitol. Once there we had to attend some functions, but a death that the Colonel was a witness to, disrupted the schedule and the awards ceremony was rescheduled to take place within the Presidents private quarters. We arrived and conversed for a time, and then began discussing the options for an alliance. Later, the Colonel and my Sam received medals and commendations for their part in destroying Apophis's ships, and Samantha was promoted from Captain to Major."

"This is also the point at which we discussed offering a symbiote to General Carter. He agreed that we could offer it to him, if there was one available. The ships were discussed, and it was agreed that you would be offered one of them once we began to negotiate a treaty, which we will soon be ready to do, as my report is very close to being complete."

"The day after we returned to the SGC from Washington, D.C., I was told that SG-6 had captured a Goa'uld, and that General Hammond would like for Samantha and I to interrogate him. We proceeded to the security area, after first masking me. We tried to identify him through the security camera, however, he had his arm over his face, and we could not see enough of it to tell if we knew him or not. We proceeded to the cellblock and entered the room where the cell was. When we asked him who he was, he approached us, and rather arrogantly informed us that it was none of our business and that we were wasting our time, since he would tell us nothing. Sam and I had several images flash through our minds, so we knew that he was Tok'Ra. We informed the General that he was one of us, and that we knew him personally, although we could not remember his name."

She took another sip of her water and continued, "Needless to say, they were surprised that a human woman was able to detect them and know that they were Tok'Ra. It took little time to bring everything out into the open, at which point they were released, offered a place to stay, if they wished to talk to us, and so, we began to discuss our situation. When they informed us that they were our mates everything pertaining to that fell into place, as the memories rushed back. The same thing happened, when Colonel O'Neill named Cordesh as the traitor. As soon as he did that, every memory that I was missing returned. Or so I believe. Certainly all of my memories pertaining to Cordesh returned. I believe that, since you have lived the remainder of this with us, you are well aware of the events that followed."

Jolinar paused, smiling slightly, telling them, "I would give a report on Cronus, however, so much time has elapsed that I feel it would be irrelevant. It has been over a year, since I was able to send my last report to you, and he has long ago put any plans he had into action, as have the other system lords. Anything that was important or more long-term, I have long since sent on to you."

"We should keep in mind, as well, that much of what Sha'uri has to say will be at best four to five months old and at worst over seven. I still believe that much of her information will prove to be valuable, and of use to all of us, however, should she tell us something that has happened, or has happened differently, it does not mean she is attempting to give us purposely-misleading information. It simply means that her information is no longer up to date and has very probably been changed, since she left Apophis's stronghold. No doubt, were I to give you information about Cronus, the same thing would apply."

Per'sus nodded his agreement, before remarking, "I agree with you, both about Sha'uri's information and yours. There is no point in telling us of things that we already know or that no longer apply. I trust you to tell us, if you remember something that might still be pertinent, so I see no reason to take time going over what would no doubt prove to be a waste of everyone's time."

As the conversation seemed to be winding down, the General looked at the clock only to realize that several hours had passed, and that it was almost 12:00 hours. He stood and asked those now relaxing and thinking over what they'd learned if they were hungry. "Since we've finished with what Jolinar can tell us about the last few weeks, I think that we're about to start the next phase of our meeting, so this would be an ideal time to take a break. It's time for lunch, our noon meal, so we can stop to eat if that would suit all of you. We can go to the cafeteria and have hot food or I can have some of the same things we had yesterday delivered and we can eat in here. Either is fine with us, so it's really up to you and what you would rather do."

Per'sus looked around at his people, who all looked back at him. Finally, Anise pointed out, "I was not here and have had neither, so I have no vote on what we have."

"I have no preference, Per'sus. Yesterday's food was quite enjoyable and I would not mind eating the same things today," Malek gave his opinion.

Seeing the nods from the others, he turned, saying, "General Hammond, if it would not be an inconvenience, I believe that we would be fine with eating here."

"Very well. I'll get them to send it."

Sam took control and looked over at him, saying, "General Hammond, why don't you have them send some pizzas? Those that want cold cuts could have sandwiches and veggies, but if someone wanted hot food, the pizzas would at least be warm."

"Hm. How many do we need, Major, and do we want them from here, or should I send out for them?"

Sam looked around and her eyes met Daniel's. He answered her silent question, telling her, "Take out. Remember that Jack and Teal'c are here. There are five of us and six of them. Do we count the other half as separate when it comes to eating?"

Sam shook her head. "No, food counts as one, plus maybe a little more, but not a lot, not like two humans. So six and five plus two for the Colonel and Teal'c, divided by two is—make it seven. So seven large? Maybe even eight? A variety of kinds? That's six for us and one each for the Colonel and Teal'c. We can always eat any leftovers later. Just enough cold cuts in case someone doesn't like pizza."

Teal'c raised one eyebrow, asking, "There are people who do not like pizza?" There was little doubt that he considered this something right next to impossible, and possibly even on the edge of being blasphemous.

"Yeah, T, there are people out there that don't like the food of the Gods." O'Neill grinned at his reaction.

Teal'c looked affronted and the Tok'Ra looked confused. Sam was helping the General to decide on kinds and order the pizzas, so Daniel took it upon himself to explain, "Teal'c and Jack both really like the food we're ordering. It has nothing to do with Gods; here, 'food of the gods', is just an Earth expression for a food that's so good that almost everyone likes it. Jack's just giving Teal'c a hard time. Ignore them."

Sam rejoined the table, as did the General, and conversation became general in nature, as they began to learn more of one another. Sam relaxed, but feeling eyes on her, she looked up and into Malek's gaze. She sent him a look of inquiry, and he slid into the chair that Martouf had just vacated. Sam released to Jolinar assuming that he wished to speak to her, and she was correct.

He looked away for a moment, before sighing and returning his gaze to her. "I am very glad that you have returned to us, Jolinar. I am sorry about Rosha, as well."

"Thank you, Malek. I must admit that I am glad to have returned. I, too miss Rosha, however, I am also enjoying my new host. We have a great deal in common, and she shares my sense of humor."

He nodded. "When you were first declared dead, I thought that we would lose Lantash and Martouf, as well. They were inconsolable for several months. It was very hard to see them in such pain. I have no doubt that they are overjoyed to have you returned to them…as are all of us who know of your return."

"I am overjoyed to be back, Malek. For a very long time, I doubted that I would ever see the tunnels again."

"I can understand that." He hesitated, and then asked her, "How committed to this alliance are you?"

"Completely. I will not give up until we have one."

"It is my belief that both Per'sus and Selmak agree with you. Lantash, too, I am quite sure, or he would not want to remain here. I do not know how Garshaw feels, personally, but I know that her base council turned it down. Anise, I have no way of knowing, since we have not talked, since I explained what was going on to her last night."

Jolinar nodded. "I am sure that we will discover their sentiments after we eat, which should be soon now. They just brought in the other food and the drinks. The pizza should not be far behind."

Lantash walked up and asked what they would like to drink, even as he handed Jolinar a soft drink. She sent him a smile, thanking him for remembering what she would want. She wished the remainder of the food would arrive, so that they could get on with the meeting. She was ready; they were both ready. Ah, here came the pizza. Soon, now. It would be soon.

TBC


	29. Mutually Beneficial Ch 30 AAOF

_**Chapter Thirty Summary: **After eating, the Tau'ri and Tok'Ra talk together getting to know one another. When the meeting resumes, Jolinar suggests that they talk separately. SG-1 and General Hammond go to a near-by room, while the Tok'Ra remain behind. The Tok'Ra vote to accept an alliance, and they decide to take the proposal to the High Council for 'ratification'. The Tau'ri return, Daniel begins negotiations. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

_**Cor'cyfials - **Heartfriends, best friends, lovers; sometimes only one, sometimes all three._

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Thirty**_

_**Mutually Beneficial**_

* * *

Sam looked around the table and suppressed a small smile. _"Well, Jol, I guess we don't have to worry about eating leftover pizza." _She watched as Garshaw reached out and snagged a lonely mushroom that had fallen off a slice of pizza earlier, and popped it into her mouth.

She heard Jolinar chuckling, as she watched her, commenting, _"It certainly appears that way. I do not believe I have ever seen anyone eat as much as Teal'c does. I do believe that he ate that entire pizza, with no outside help at all. O'Neill appeared to be close behind him." _

"_Yeah. That's why we ordered two extra. One for each of them. I'm beginning to think that Martouf is as bottomless, as they are, although I will admit that he didn't eat enough to say he ate the entire thing. I guess we should have ordered one more. Although, I really don't think that anyone will go hungry. Are you about ready to start clearing this mess up, Jolinar? I think the General just called down for the trays to be removed." _

"_Yes, let us accomplish that, and then we should begin the cleanup in here, as you suggested. There is no point in washing our hands, until we are finished handling the boxes and plates." _

Nodding her agreement, Sam stood and walked over to begin packing up the trays to set them outside the door. Malek joined her, as did Anise. Martouf noticed what was going on and began gathering plates, glasses, and used napkins. It took very little time with all four of them working on it. Lastly, they removed the paper tablecloth that they used to protect the table from messy spills, and it was once more a briefing room table.

Everyone drifted in and out to the facilities to use them, to wash their hands, and possibly their faces. Pizza could be messy, and these were especially so, as they were well loaded and apt to make a mess as you bit down. They were good, though, and that was the main thing. The Tok'Ra had certainly liked them, as was apparent by the lack of any remaining pieces. It was a good thing that Daniel grabbed a few pieces and took them to Sha'uri. Speaking of which, he should be returning, soon. They were almost ready to start discussing the terms of an alliance.

Sam could feel Jolinar's…excitement, but it was underscored by just a slight bit of anxiety. She was surprised to feel it and sent an inquiry to her, _"What's wrong, Jolinar? Have you noticed something that I've missed, that tells us that this isn't going to work?"_

"_No, nothing. Although, I firmly believe that there is no doubt about the actual agreement to form an alliance taking place, I am concerned with what we will have to promise to acquire it. I would prefer not to use the lure of hosts. While it is a good thing, I would rather our agreement did not hinge on that, but on them actually seeing that the Tau'ri can be an asset if they work with us instead of against us. In other words, I wish to see it based on the Tau'ri's merit, not for everything that we will bring to them. I am also hopeful that I will not have to inform them of the Asgard's…encouragement…before they agree. I know that I may be hoping for too much, but I still believe that it is possible, even if it is not probable." _

Sam glanced around at the Tok'Ra, as she attempted to read their body language. All of them looked very relaxed and appeared to be enjoying the conversations in which they were taking part. No one seemed particularly concerned or standoffish, as they might, if the decision was a firm no. That was encouraging, at least. _"I don't think we'll get a firm no, Jolinar. Not from the way, they are acting anyway. Of course, I'm not that familiar with the Tok'Ra to know them well, but humans wouldn't be this friendly and relaxed, if they were giving bad news. Well, most wouldn't anyway. They'd be more inclined to get back to the table and bring the meeting to a conclusion." _

"_Yes, I believe that you are correct, Samantha. We are not so different from humans, when it comes to these things. Giving bad news is not something that we would wish to delay. Nor would Per'sus be laughing with General Hammond. The Tok'Ra would be staying closer together, as a group, rather than spreading out and talking to the Tau'ri. Thank you, for pointing that out. I believe that I can relax a little more myself, now." _She glanced around the room once again, before stating, _"Daniel is the only one who is not present. I hope there is no problem with Sha'uri, other than they wish to spend time together." _

"_I doubt there is anything wrong. If there was a problem, he'd contact us. He'll probably get back, soon." _

Seeing Anise approaching them, Sam gave over to Jolinar, and the woman reached out to clasp her arm, as she told her, "I am very pleased to see you Jolinar. Your death hit many of us very hard. Martouf and Lantash were…severely distressed, for quite some time. I am sorry for Rosha's loss; however, I also wish to welcome your new host.I must admit that I was surprised and puzzled when Malek told me that you were remaining on the Tau'ri world. I was even more amazed when he told me that in all probability Martouf and Lantash would also stay."

Jolinar smiled slightly, as she sipped her water. She cocked her head, and raised one of her eyebrows, as she asked, "And now? Are you still surprised and puzzled, as to why I would wish to stay here?"

Anise smiled back briefly, before admitting, "No. No, I am no longer surprised, puzzled, or amazed that the two of you are remaining here. They are interesting humans, and I have a feeling that the Tau'ri world would have much to recommend it." This time she sent her a full grin, before sobering once more, but teasing lightly, "Pizza is not the least of the reasons to stay here." Her gaze roamed around the room and came to rest upon Garshaw. "I am not sure that there are not some other things here that might draw some of us. However, I have to admit that, though she is attracted to O'Neill, she is equally, if not more, attracted to the General. I am not sure she realizes it yet, though. I have seen it in the way her eyes drift to him, rather than O'Neill, when they have a chance to do so."

Following her gaze, Jolinar grinned, before she chuckled. "So, you do not believe that might actually go anywhere?"

Anise shrugged. "Garshaw's mate has been gone for a long time. It would not surprise me, if she found in him or the General, at the least, a _Cor'cyfials. _Furthermore, Malek tells me that O'Neill is the one who actually made the discovery of the traitor. She now sees him in a different light than before, so I suppose, as I said, it could be something for them to enjoy. She respects him, and because of that, I believe that she looked more carefully at the Tau'ri, than she might otherwise have done." She paused, before slowly adding, "Her possible attraction to Colonel O'Neill and to General Hammond aside, though, she began to look even more thoroughly at them, when she understood that you and Lantash were remaining with them. When she realized that you and Lantash were serious about staying here to help them fight the System Lords, and to build technology that would be more helpful to them than Goa'uld based technology, she began to try to discover why you would do so."

"The only explanation was the humans, the people; there must be something compelling or extraordinary, about them. Finding out that they destroyed Apophis's ships, with only four people, and one inside contact made them appear even more interesting. I believe that her interest in the Tau'ri—surprised her. They are enterprising; their ingenuity intrigued her. They are also rash, brash, reckless, and headstrong. Still, their positive traits outweigh their negative ones. They appear to be trustworthy and loyal to those to whom they have promised those things. What she found impressed her. She will vote yes, as will I, Jolinar. I must agree with Malek. There is something about them that I do not yet know, or perhaps, it is that I do not yet understand it, and that makes them interesting, if ambiguous. Whatever it is, I agree that we will be making a very large mistake, if we pass up this opportunity, now that it has been brought to our attention and offered to us."

"Thank you. Samantha wishes me to point out that not every Tau'ri are those things and that, even in their own military organizations, there are those who cannot be trusted."

Anise nodded, but assured her, "That is true, and I believe that all of us are aware that there is an entire spectrum of humans here on this world. However, the fact that she actually prompted you to tell us that shows her integrity, and I believe that those with whom she works closely are much the same. Actually, although I have met few of them, I have a feeling that some of the other people in this facility would have personal codes that would fall near to those of your teammates."

"I believe that General Hammond is a very honest and straightforward man, who does his best to remain that way, although he will carry out his orders, even if it goes against his code of honor. Colonel O'Neill has ethics stamped all over him. He follows his conscience, whenever he can, and when he cannot, for whatever reason, it is very hard on him. His personal code of honor sets very high standards…as, I believe, your Samantha's does. However, to continue about O'Neill, I believe that when he must trample those codes in order to carry out an order, although, it does not show outwardly, it causes him to become more cynical and disillusioned. He forgets to look at the good…the good that surrounds him every day, no farther away than his team."

She stopped for a moment to contemplate the other two members of SG-1, before continuing, "I am not sure that Dr. Jackson could do something unethical, if his life depended upon it. Perhaps, if his wife's or a friend's life hung in the balance, he could bring himself to go against his honor…but his own life…no, I would very much doubt if he could. He, too, has ethics that run deep, and I am not sure he could live with it, if he did something that went against his personal code of honor and ethics. I have a feeling that he rarely lies unless he has absolutely no choice. I am not talking about telling you that your hair looks wonderful, when it actually looks like something made a nest in it. I am talking about lies about important things. I believe that the only lies that he could utter, and not feel guilt over it, would be those that saved someone from something that they did not deserve, or that might harm them. Those, I am sure he can forget and never worry about again."

"Although I agree about Daniel for the most part, he has, on one occasion of which I am aware through Samantha, gone against his principles; however, there were extenuating circumstances, and he had not long before lost his wife to Apophis. He has never forgotten his actions, and they bother him greatly. He and Samantha have discussed it on more than one occasion, and she has been able to help him to lessen his feelings of guilt and at least come to understand his own actions. For the rest, your reading of his character is very much on target. For him, doing something that he considers unethical is almost impossible and only in the direst of circumstances or under a great deal of metal and emotional stress and anguish would he ever do so."

Anise nodded her understanding, before commenting, "Teal'c, too, has a personal code of conduct, ethics, honor, whichever you choose to call it; perhaps all three of them. However, he can do those things that must be done, even if they are not within that code, for he understands the necessity of them. He does not like or condone it, but he sees what must be done, and he understands the why, as well. I would imagine that Samantha and O'Neill are the same…but not to the extent, that Teal'c is. Dr. Jackson, however…of him I am not so sure; as I said, I am not sure that he could push his personal codes aside or live with it, if he did so, even though you assure me that he has done so on at least one occasion of which you are aware."

"Malek has sensed these things about each of them, as well, and so, too, has Per'sus. Selmak has received everything that we are slowly learning from his new Lifemate, and it is obvious that he has no qualms, whatsoever, about allying with the Tau'ri, and in fact, the opposite is true. He, too, believes that we would be making a very grave mistake to ignore this opportunity."

"Lantash would not be remaining here, if the Tau'ri were other than what I have stated…and neither would you. I know that the statement that Lantash and Martouf would not stay here for you and Samantha is not understood by the Tau'ri. I have seen their disbelief. They do not yet comprehend that, passionate as the Tok'Ra are, they are also logical, practical, and loyal. They do not realize that he could visit often, and that to them, after years of you being gone on missions, visiting would be near bliss for them. Nor do they understand that you now have several hundred years to be together. His loyalty to the Tok'Ra would keep him on his base, if he felt that he could be of more use there. He does not, and that in itself, tells a tale about the Tau'ri that the Tok'Ra can read." She shrugged. "As they come to know the Tok'Ra better they will learn these things about them. It cannot be absorbed all at once."

"Whether we can convince the remainder of the council is still anyone's guess, nevertheless, it is my belief that, once Per'sus relates his position, and you state that you will vote yes, then there will be four or five more yes votes, which is more than enough to carry the agreement. The others may go either way, but I believe that they will vote no simply to spite you, as they will put personal feelings before the good of the Tok'Ra, as a whole. I did not agree, when Per'sus allowed them to become members of the High Council, and I still believe they should be removed. The announcement of your ascension to your council seat, even though they do not know the full extent of what it means, will incense them, and they will allow that to overrule their common sense."

Jolinar tilted her head slightly, as she looked at her long-time friend. She had never heard taking a council seat described as ascension to that seat. She frowned, not really liking the connotation that could be affixed to it.

"_I wouldn't let it bother me too much, Jolinar. It's probably just a way to designate that the seat is yours, and no others, because it came to you through Egeria. The stipulations Egeria attached to it probably upsets them. Don't forget that Delek wanted it, and Per'sus informed them that no one could ever have it, except you," _Sam reminded her mildly.

"_Yes, of course, you are probably correct, my Sam. Knowing Anise, she may even use it to upset them even more. It would be like her to do so. She very much dislikes Thoran and his coterie of sycophants. _ _At one time, he tried to have her discredited and thrown off the council. It was not long after he became a member, and it was very foolish of him to challenge a long-time council member in the way that he did. None of us believed him, as what he alleged was so far out of character for Anise and her host, that it was ludicrous. He did not take the time to know his target." _

"_Unfortunately, he learned from his mistakes, and he is more careful now, when he attempts those things. He thinks that we do not know, when he attempts to sway one or all of us with his remarks, but none of us were born yesterday, as you would say, and so his innuendo is largely ignored, unless it becomes annoying. Then Per'sus takes him aside and discusses the situation. He is always sorry and truly believed what he was told. __Humph!_ He makes them up himself, so that is very hard to believe. He will go too far one day. It is just a matter of time." 

"_Anise hates him almost as much, as he hates her. She proved him wrong once in front of a great many Tok'Ra. She tried to tell him privately that what he wanted to do could not work in the way he said it would, but he would not listen to or believe her. So, she proved it in front of a rather large gathering. He has hated and despised her ever since. It is well known, too, so no one really pays much attention to his advice concerning her and her 'ulterior motives'._

"_Sounds like a real charmer, Jolinar. I simply can't wait to meet him…not." _

Jolinar chuckled aloud and Anise smiled at her. "You and your host must share a sense of humor."

Jolinar laughed again. "Yes, her sense of humor is just as broad based as mine, and she can be very droll. Many who first meet her do not realize that she has a very keen sense of humor, and they are somewhat shocked when they realize it, at first. It is almost as though, since she is an astrophysicist, she is not allowed to have a sense of humor. They soon learn, though. Her father, too, has a very keen wit. He and Selmak will find each other delightful because of that, if for no other reason, although, I doubt that happens. From what I've seen, I believe that they are well-suited to one another."

The door opened and Daniel came in, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for being late." It was obvious that he ran all the way from their quarters to the briefing room.

General Hammond turned from where he was talking to Per'sus, telling him, "No problem, Dr. Jackson. To tell you the truth, I don't think any of us noticed the time." He glanced at the clock. It was getting rather late. 13:30 hours and they hadn't started the hard part yet. "Now that you've arrived though, we should get started."

A knock on the door startled them, for a moment, but Daniel, being the closest to it, opened it to find Dr. Janet Fraiser standing there. "Hey, Janet, what's going on?"

"General Hammond asked me to come by at 13:30, so here I am." She peered around Daniel and spotted the General talking to a very tall, handsome man.

Daniel stepped back and Janet stepped into the room. Turning to the General, she nodded, saying, "You wanted to see me, General? What can I do for you?"

"Actually, Dr. Fraiser, some of our guests requested a meeting and introduction to you. This is High Councilor Per'sus, and his host, Aiydon, of the Tok'Ra. Councilor Per'sus, this is Dr. Janet Fraiser. She's the chief medical officer in charge of our medical staff and, well, all things that pertain to medicine and medical care are under her venue."

"She's the one who saved Jolinar and Major Carter, Lantash and Martouf, and worked on trying to come up with the masking serum for Jolinar, which led to our very fast acting Goa'uld tranquilizer. She, also, felt there was something, ah—off, that is, wrong—I guess you would say, about Martouf and Lantash being Goa'uld." He smiled, as he told him, "She insisted that he was much too polite to be a Goa'uld. He was arrogant enough to be one, but he was also polite, when he forgot to act like an arrogant," he coughed, before he concluded, "ah, prideful being. Then, too, there were the times, when his host had control, when they thought no one was watching them. She also said that it was very obvious that they were having conversations. Not a very Goa'uld-like thing to do. And, not once did he threaten to make them all slaves to his Godhood."

Per'sus bowed his head to her, as he took her hand in his, and assured her, "It is very much a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Fraiser. I must thank you most sincerely for saving our people. They would have been sorely missed had they been lost to us. We are in your debt. I believe that our healers will wish to talk to you, as well. Lantash has explained what you did for him, and how it then allowed him to work on healing, rather than using his energy to sustain some other of Martouf's functions. However, I have not yet heard what it was that you did for Jolinar. We would be grateful, if you would allow us to talk to you about it some time. I realize that now is not the optimum time; however, we are interested."

Janet looked surprised, but replied calmly, "Of course. I would be very pleased to talk to anyone who has questions, and I'm sure I would enjoy talking to your healers, as well. As for the other, no thanks are required. It's my job; I save people whenever I can. Tok'Ra, too."

The General stepped in, indicating that she should turn slightly to her left, as he told her, "This is Garshaw of Belote, and her host, Yosuf. They are members of the High Council, as well." The women nodded, as they greeted one another, but the General moved to the Tok'Ra standing next to her, saying, "This is Malek of the Tok'Ra, and his host Devlin. He, too, is a High Council Member.

Taking her hand much as Per'sus had, Malek looked closely at her, very much liking what he saw. He murmured, quietly, "It is indeed an honor to meet you, Dr. Fraiser. Jolinar, Martouf, and Lantash would have been sorely missed had they passed from us, and it is very sincerely meant, when I thank you for their return to us."

He continued quickly, before she could respond, assuring her, "I second Per'sus's request that you talk to our healers, for I agree that they will be very interested in what you have to tell them of the methods you used. Taking some of the burden of preventing and sustaining certain occurrences and functions could prove very useful. As you have no doubt learned, it is often that the symbiote would be able to heal a badly injured host, if only they could stop the bleeding quickly enough or prevent them going into shock, while at the same time healing. The need to tend to too many problems, at once, is a very real reason why some Tok'Ra die, when the wound itself could have been healed. I myself would like to be included in your discussions with our healers, as I am very interested in what you did for Martouf and Lantash, as well as, Jolinar and Samantha."

"Thank you. As I said, I would be more than happy to talk to anyone that is interested in our methods. Unfortunately, without Naquadah in our blood, we aren't able to use the healing device, but to be honest, I'm not sure that our methods might not work better, for two of the things you mentioned. Both bleeding and shock are things that we can sometimes stop and prevent. Please, contact me and we can set up a time to get together, if you would like. Perhaps on one of your bases, or, if any of you are interested in seeing how we do it, and our equipment, perhaps we could arrange a day and time for you to come here to our base, with the General's approval, of course." Realizing that he, Malek, still held her hand from when they were introduced, she flushed and slowly pulled her hand away. He smiled down at her, and she flushed a little darker shade of rose. He was certainly good-looking, too, and…very, er, interesting. Yes, interesting.

"You have my approval, of course, Dr. Perhaps you and Malek can get together after our meetings to set up a time when everyone that wishes to would be able to come. Or, if there are quite a few, and you can't coordinate a mutually agreeable time, you could always hold more than one meeting. I'm sure that Malek and Devlin would be pleased to help set everything up." General Hammond had noticed not only the extended holding of her hand, but also the blush, there was obviously interest on both sides. Who was he to put an obstacle in their way? Dr. Fraiser deserved some enjoyment. She worked damned hard.

Janet nodded, answering softly, "That would be fine with me, if Malek doesn't mind coordinating from his end."

He bowed slightly, assuring her, "It would be my pleasure." He smiled at her once again, and she returned it with another slight blush upon her cheeks.

Realizing that there were more people to meet, she, somewhat reluctantly, turned to the next person, as the General once more took over, saying, "Standing next to Malek and Devlin is Anise of the Tok'Ra and her host, Freya. She, also, is on their High Council.

"It is a pleasure, Dr. Fraiser. We are in your debt, for the loss of our comrades would have been a deep felt one. I am interested in your methods; therefore, I would like to attend when you decide on a date and time. I will be sure to have Malek and Devlin let me know."

"You would be very welcome. Thank you. I will look forward to seeing you and Freya again."

Once again, General Hammond took over, turning to the last of the Tok'Ra present, saying, "And last, but not least, is Selmak of the Tok'Ra, and his host, General Jacob Carter, who I am believe you do know. I think that's all of the new and not so new faces, for the moment."

She was careful to smile at each of them rather neutrally, even though Malek's gaze was rather more intense than his fellow Tok'Ra's gazes were.

"_Well, well, well, Jolinar, I do believe that there is a definite interest from Malek and Devlin. They don't have mates do they?" _

"_They do not. In fact, Malek's mates were lost to us even before he blended with Devlin, so neither of them is attached in any way, my Sam." _

"_Good. This could be fun." _Sam felt very pleased with the developments that appeared to be taking place.

"_I agree. Malek has been alone for long enough, and Devlin, too, deserves to find someone. We will definitely work on this issue and do what we can to further their acquaintance." _

Sam laughed softly. Janet was her best friend, and she, too, had been alone for a long time. Too long, really, and it was about time that she found someone to at least be interested in. She turned her attention back to what was occurring around them.

Once the pleasantries were taken care of, Janet greeted SG-1, smiled at everyone one more time, and turned to the General, telling him, "I should be going, if you don't need me, Sir. I have a couple members of SG-11 in the infirmary with rashes that appear to be poison ivy or something very like it. They are responding rather slowly to the medication, but they were exposed to the substance in large amounts. It seems that they were lying in it, as they observed a Jaffa encampment and naquadah mine."

"Very well, Dr. Fraiser, you're free to go. We won't keep you longer." Smiling at all of them one more time, she made her way to the door, where Daniel opened it for her, and then closed it after she left.

General Hammond walked to his chair and sat down, the signal for everyone to find their seats. As soon as everyone was seated, Daniel turned to the General, and apologized once again, for being late, telling them, "I really am sorry that I didn't get back sooner."

Then, he turned to Per'sus, explaining, "Sha'uri and I were talking about the things we discussed earlier about the recall device and the, um, the Tok'Ra attempting to block some of the nastier memories for the child. I told her everything you said, and…well, anyway, we discussed all of the points that were made. She asked me to thank you for her, and to tell you that she is willing to try the memory recall device, whenever you want to try to use it on her. I did tell her that we would check with your healers first, though, to be sure there weren't any problems or special things we needed to do. She's very determined to do her best for everyone, both the Tau'ri and the Tok'Ra."

Anise looked up from where she was activating the last of the recorders, remarking, "If we agree to an alliance, I would suggest that either Arwanna or Daimesh, or perhaps even both of them, be in attendance, at first. They should be there, during the initial attempts to use it on her, if not for every session. They would know best what to monitor to ensure the utmost safety."

Per'sus nodded in agreement, announcing, "I believe that would only be a prudent precaution to take. As for an alliance, I believe that it is more a question of the terms, not whether or not there will be one. The depth and closeness of it is more what we should be considering."

They all stared at him in stupefied silence. This was plain speaking, indeed; there was no room for doubt, as to what he meant. Per'sus's intentions were clear to everyone at the table. He was as determined as Jolinar, Sam, Lantash, and Martouf were to see an alliance between the Tau'ri of the First World, Earth, and the Tok'Ra. His statement was his announcement that he was ready to hear terms, conditions, and what give and take there _would_ be, not what there _might_ be. This was the point they were all working toward, and now it was time to begin; it was time to place their offer on the table in a more concise and organized way.

Per'sus's comments from time to time, and his relaxed attitude, when talking to them, had led the General to believe that an alliance was at least a possibility. At the least, he had expected that the idea of a formal alliance wouldn't be straight out refused. He was confident that an agreement to stay friendly and helpful to one another, even if there wasn't a _formal_ alliance between them, would be offered, perhaps, as they looked more closely at what each of them were willing to offer as assistance and became more knowledgeable about one another. He had expected that they might explore exactly what an alliance between them would entail. Although, he hoped it wouldn't come to that, he felt that it would probably take the offer of hosts, before they would agree to a true alliance. So, needless to say, he was surprised at the firmness and determination in Per'sus's words and voice. This wasn't a tentative anything. It was a declaration of intent. There_ would be_ an alliance. All that remained to be seen were the terms of it.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, the General turned to Sam and Jolinar. Seeing Jolinar take control, he asked her, "Would you like to outline what we feel are the reasons that we should form a firm, formal alliance, Jolinar, or do you want to allow Dr. Jackson to lay out our, er, case, for us?"

"_Sam, this is what Daniel usually does, yes? He is the diplomat, negotiator of our team? I realize that you have teams set up that go in, once Daniel or someone on another team has setup the groundwork to move toward an agreement, but in this case were you and I not here, it would be Daniel, yes? If not the General? Which should actually do this?" _

"_Hm. I hadn't given that any real thought, Jolinar. If it was SG-1, then yes, it would be Daniel that did the talking. With the General here, well I'm just not sure, but the fact that he turned to you is kind of saying that he will be the final yes or no man, but the offers and negotiation will be left to us. So…it is up to you. Would Daniel know not to mention the Asgard and the hosts until later?" _

"_I will see. We would need to talk to him, first. Let me discuss this with the General now." _

"_Okay. That's probably a good idea." _

Jolinar returned from her conversation with Sam, and glanced around, before turning to the General. "General Hammond, if you feel that SG-1 should handle this, then I believe that it should be handled as SG-1 to Tok'Ra, not as Tok'Ra to Tok'Ra, and were I to do it that is what it would be. However, there are things that I need to discuss with Daniel that he may be unaware of, which would put him at a disadvantage. I suggest that the Tau'ri step into another room, where we can confer privately. I am sure that Per'sus and the other Tok'Ra would appreciate the privacy to discuss some points, before we begin, as well."

She sent a questioning look to Per'sus who nodded his agreement, saying, "That is very true, Jolinar. We have not had the time to discuss anything we have learned, nor have I yet stated my attitude, intentions, and decision concerning an alliance. While I cannot arbitrarily make the decision to formally ally with the Tau'ri, my opinion does carry some weight within the High and Base Councils. There are some that will look at the proposal more deeply and assess it more thoroughly, if they know that I am completely committed to it and, in fact, actively wish it to come to pass."

He paused and smiled somewhat wryly, stating, "Your backing will carry equal or more influence than mine, Jolinar. Therefore, it is important that you join those of us here, for a short time, to vote on whether we believe we should ally or not and whether or not to present the proposal to the Council. I am confident of the vote, but doing it formally will help to stop any objections. Then, if you do not accompany us to the formal assemblage of the High Council, you should appoint a proxy to cast your votes. Of course, it would be very much better, if you were to attend. This is as good a time as any to announce your decision to ascend to your seat on the Council."

Jolinar sighed and almost groaned aloud. This was one of the reasons she had put off taking the seat Per'sus offered, for so long. The formality drove her crazy, and so did some of the younger, as well as one or two of the older, members.

"Are you sure that my vote will not upset some of them, Per'sus? I could be said to have a conflict of interest, since my host is Tau'ri. So could Selmak. Not," she added, "That I will allow their opinions to stop me from voting. I fully intend to do so."

"Good. Then we will expect you to return, after you have spoken with the Tau'ri, to tell us what your vote is."

"All right. I will return shortly, as I do not expect this to take very long."

She turned to find everyone else standing by the open door waiting on her. Indicating that she was ready, they all left, shutting the door behind them and heading toward a smaller room down the hall a short way.

O'Neill rubbed his hands together, asking, "Okay, is this a strategy meeting or what?"

Jolinar released control to Sam, and she shook her head, saying, "No, not exactly, Sir. We just thought that they might appreciate a chance to discuss things, before we started actually talking terms, and what we were each willing to give. That's also why Jolinar and I felt that we should talk to Daniel, before he started, so that we were all on the same page, too."

Turning to Daniel, she told him, "Don't offer the hosts or the tablet, Daniel. Let's wait and see if we can get a favorable agreement first. If we can't, then it gets a little trickier." She paused, before she told him, "We'll go to the tablet first, before we offer the hosts. Now, at whatever point handing over the tablet occurs, every recording device in the room has to be shut off and moved to a place where it couldn't possibly record anything, just to be safe. That includes the security camera. We'll have to cover it with something."

Daniel looked at her, and she could read the surprise on his face. "What? Why? I thought we wanted this to be well documented."

Sam nodded her head, as she agreed, "We do, Daniel, but not that part. When you give that tablet to Per'sus, _no one _can know what's on it, but us and him. Although, we know who _used_ to know it, we don't know, for sure, anyway, who can have access to the information that's on it, now." She looked at him knowing that Daniel would understand what she was saying. "We know that Per'sus has knowledge of it, and so does Selmak and Garshaw. When Jolinar left three years ago, Per'sus, Selmak, Garshaw, Lantash, Malek, and Anise were the only Tok'Ra who knew about it. We can be fairly sure that Anise and Malek's inclusion in these talks was not random. Per'sus no doubt realized, from our report, that there could be something about the tablet come up in our meeting, and that's why he brought them in, instead of any of the others. We _can't_ take the chance of that information being caught on a recording. He _might_ name it, since they are all knowledgeable about it. He also knows that you are all aware of what's on the tablet, and therefore already know about it. That we haven't mentioned it, even in passing, is another plus awarded to us. We know one of their most highly guarded secrets, and we haven't spoken of it, or attempted to use it to try to pressure them into an alliance."

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, before throwing his head back and staring at the ceiling. When he finished giving himself a, in Sam's view, totally unnecessary, mental upbraiding for his 'stupidity', he sighed, lowered his head, and looked at her, agreeing, "Right. I'm glad you thought to have this meeting. I'd pretty much forgotten about the 'tablet' and that it couldn't go beyond us. Thank you for being sure I remembered it. I could have blown the entire alliance out of the water, if I'd blithely thrown out that name and relationship in front of everyone and every recording device we have in there," Daniel's answer was almost fervent in its tone, and Sam wasn't sure that he didn't shudder, at the thought of what he might have inadvertently done.

"Don't worry about it, Daniel, it didn't happen." She took a breath and tackled the last of the things that they could offer. "Now we've come to our final offer. General Hammond, Jolinar, and I have talked about this, and he agrees with us. If there is any way to form a good, strong, alliance with them, without mentioning the offer of hosts first, then, that's what we want to do."

Teal'c stood with a furrowed brow, as he attempted to find some reason, other than reneging on that particular point, which would make Jolinar, Major Carter, and General Hammond change their minds about offering hosts. His brow cleared, as he replayed exactly what the Major said. She said, "Without mentioning the offer of hosts 'first'." For some reason they wanted the alliance to be independent of the hosts. It was not that they were not going to offer hosts; it was that they did not want the two connected. He was not sure why, but he knew that he would trust Samantha Carter with his life, and in the few short days that he had known her, he had built a great deal of respect for Jolinar of Malk'shur. If she wanted it this way, then there was a good reason. He would wait for that reason before saying anything.

Colonel O'Neill, on the other hand, let his mouth take off at full speed, before it was even in gear. "What? I thought that the host thing was all settled. Who backed out on the deal? What's Jolinar got to say about this? I'm surprised she's even talking to us. Is this Kinsey's fault? Of all the nasty things to do! That stupid, slimy, snake-assed…" as he saw every pair of eyes on him, staring him down with identical looks of exasperation, which said they were ready to throttle him, he cleared his throat, saying, "I guess I missed something in the memo's, huh? Er, sorry about that." He sent all of them that crooked little grin that was so endearing, and he saw four pairs of eyes roll, before they switched their attention back to Sam.

With one last mildly exasperated, but also slightly amused, look at O'Neill, she proceeded to explain their reasoning, clarifying, "Jolinar and I talked about the offer of hosts, and after we thought about it, we both felt that, if we could get an alliance, without resorting to offering hosts, it would be better for both sides. We talked to the General about it, and he agreed with us, so we decided to at least try to get an alliance, before we made the offer."

Since no one looked completely sure about it, except for Daniel, who usually understood, anyway, Sam realized she'd have to explain why that would be a better way. "There's a good reason for doing it this way. Jolinar and I want them to agree to the alliance based on the Tau'ri, not on the offer of hosts. We want them to see our merit as allies, and we want them to ally with us because they see what we have to offer. Jolinar and I agree that we want the alliance to be based on the Tau'ri's strengths and abilities, not on the fact that they are willing hosts. We want them to see the Tau'ri as _allies_ _first _and someone that will give them a home second. When we are mentioned, we want our determination and capability to come to their minds, before anything else, not that we're a group of people that have hosts for them first, and then their_ second thought _be that we are capable of helping them."

"We want this alliance to be based on our abilities, our strengths, and our commitment to ending the System Lords; and we also want it based on friendship. We want them to consider us friends, trustworthy, dependable, and loyal friends. That's what we are trying to achieve by attempting to get the agreement to an alliance, without the tablet or hosts being offered."

"So, you're saying that we still offer hosts, but we do it after the fact. After we know that they see us as viable, capable, and strong warriors in our own right. They'll see us as soldiers fighting with them against a common enemy, not a place to set up housekeeping. I get it." O'Neill paused for a moment and added, "It also might mean that they'll see the offer more as a friendship gesture than a, 'well we have to do this to get an alliance, so we will, but we really don't want to' type of thing. If we offer it, out of the blue, so to speak, without any pressure on us to do it, then it has more meaning."

He paused, before putting a question to her, "Our people that offer to be hosts, they'll know everything right? I mean, aren't they going to feel like we're saying, yeah, you can walk again, but you have to face some bad-ass enemies and share your body and your mind in order to do it? What about our people feeling they have no real choice in it?"

"Believe me, they will be screened and screened and then screened again. They will be given full knowledge of exactly what they are doing and exactly what will happen to their bodies and their minds. Everything, Colonel; they'll be told everything. In addition to those things you've just mentioned, they will be told about the improved eyesight, hearing, and increased strength, the long life with no illness, two thousand years of knowledge, and a friend that will always be there for you, when you need them. A Lifemate. Yes, Colonel, they'll know all there is to know about the pros and the cons of blending, I assure you."

"As for the other, Colonel? My Dad was dying. We gave him a choice. He decided to take it. They'll have the same informed choice. Will they feel like they have no choice, if they want to walk again, or see again? Yes, they will, just as my dad did. At one point, I told him, _"Dad, you don't have to do this."_ And his answer was, "_Yes, I do. My only other choice is death, and that's not acceptable._" Those offered a symbiote will have to make that choice, too. Which is more important to them—walking or seeing again, but sharing their bodies—or not walking and not seeing, but also, not sharing their body? I'm very sure that many will decide they'd rather not walk than share their body. On the other hand, there are going to be those that are willing—some because it just seems a better option—and some because to them they feel like they are dead, now, with no life and nothing for which to live. What could it hurt to share their body, if they could have a life? A different life? Yes, but a life. A full life."

O'Neill thought that over, and finally nodded, "Yeah, I guess you're right Carter. They can't say we forced them. In the end, it's their choice."

"I agree. However, that aside, for the moment anyway, I want to go back to the offer of hosts. It's not that we won't tell them of the hosts right away. As soon as we have a verbal agreement, the offer of hosts goes on the table, and at that point, it becomes their choice of whether they want it within the agreement or outside the agreement. How to handle it will be left up to them; their choice; their decision."

"Now, if there is nothing else, I need to go cast a vote, and then I'll be right back." Hearing no objections, she turned and left the room.

Sam reached the briefing room quickly, knocked on the door, and then stepped into the room. They all seemed quite comfortable. Sam gave way to Jolinar, and she asked them, "I am here, are you waiting for me?"

Lantash looked up and smiled at her. "They have already voted, Jolinar. We need only your vote to finish. If you will simply tell us yes or no, we will go on from there."

Jolinar cocked her head, and gave him a quizzical look, asking, "And what, exactly, am I voting on? I assume there is an official question that must be answered."

Lantash nodded, before stating, "The statement and question are as follows; we have been offered the opportunity to ally with the Tau'ri of the First World, Earth. Should we accept this opportunity and form an alliance? Yea or nay."

"Yea. There is no question in my mind. We should build a strong and close alliance with them."

Lantash turned to Per'sus, telling him, "That is the last vote on the question, and it is yea."

Per'sus nodded briefly to Lantash, before looking around the table at the others. "This vote carried six to zero. We have here agreed that we should attempt to form a strong, close alliance with the Tau'ri of the First World, Earth."

"Therefore, we will move forward in the manner previously approved. That being: Once we have come to terms with the Tau'ri and the document is drawn up, we will bring the agreement before the Full High Council for ratification. That shall be done within forty-eight Earth hours from the time the agreement is signed by Jolinar of Malk'shur, General Hammond of the SGC, and myself. It shall be dependent upon the agreement of the President of the United States, although, he will be called upon to approve or reject any additions to those originally set out; it should be no more than a formality. Does this meet with the approval of these High Council Members?"

A chorus of yeas answered his question and Jolinar returned to retrieve SG-1.

They stood, as she entered the room, and she told them, "It passed, unanimous. Once we come to an agreement, and draw up the document, it will be signed, and the Tok'Ra High Council will have forty-eight hours to ratify it. Are you ready to go?"

O'Neill answered for all of them, "Yup. Let's do it, to it, kids. Lead the way, Daniel, you're the spokesperson."

Daniel shook his head, took Sam's arm, and headed down the hallway. As they entered the room, they each returned to their previous seats. As Sam sat down next to Lantash and settled into her chair, he reached over and took her hand in his, squeezing it gently. His smile warmed her, and she squeezed his in return, before she turned back to the people sitting around the table.

She released to Jolinar, as Daniel cleared his throat. "As you know, we've been authorized by our leader, the President of our country, to pursue and attempt to form, an alliance with the Tok'Ra. We are very much aware that we have no technology that you need. You fear we might compromise your bases, if any of our teams are captured and tortured. I think we've gone over the way to fix that problem, and we both believe that it would work and have agreed to it. Is that correct?"

Per'sus nodded. "It is. Yes."

Daniel nodded in acknowledgement, and then he returned to where he stopped talking, and picked up from there. "While we may not have technology that can help you, we disagree that we have nothing to offer to you in exchange for your friendship, occasional aid, and technology. We have other assets that I will point out to those not aware of them. I realize that all of you sitting here are aware of these things; however, those who will be seeing this meeting later are not aware of our assets, and we feel we should set them out for them."

"We have _already_ proven that we are useful friends of the Tok'Ra. We have agreed with two of our people when they chose to become hosts. We rescued, and helped to save, one of your people from what he admits would have been fatal wounds had we not intervened and assisted him. We killed the Ashrak that was following and attempting to kill one of your people, and we saved her, when she was dying from his attack on her and her new host. We found the traitor you have been trying to find, for some time now."

He paused for a moment, before continuing, "We completely destroyed Ra and crippled Apophis. We helped one of your operatives to plan, and then to put it into action, thereby causing a chain of events that we hope will stop Sokar from becoming the Supreme System Lord. We did that by playing the parts of Jaffa and slaves, so that your operative would appear to be a strong Goa'uld, in her own right, and therefore, we managed to carry out a moderately dangerous mission. This mission not only pitched Sokar into a war with Cronus, it also set Apophis into a war with Heru'Ur, which in turn will probably pull in Zipacna and Bastet, if not more of them. This should keep them all busy, for a while, and keep any of them from gaining enough strength to claim the position of Supreme System Lord."

Daniel sipped his water, before returning to his explanation, "We rescued Amaunet's host thereby capturing Amaunet. We have made Amaunet's host available to you, while Amaunet is dormant, so that you can question her. Once all of us have found out everything we can from her, you have agreed to remove Amaunet, and do what you please with her, while we get her host. And last, but not least, we have offered you a new Mothership, complete with four Al'kesh, and a full complement of death gliders."

Daniel appeared to stop, but then said, "Oh, and we've done all of that except kill Ra and weaken Apophis, in the last two weeks. Now, as I said, I know we don't have technology that you can use, but an alliance between us would make us both stronger, not weaker. We can be of help to you, as you've just seen. I think it proves my case for a strong alliance based on mutual respect and friendship."

"One more thing. And it's one of the most important reasons for forming an alliance and trading Intel. That reason is to keep us from inadvertently killing one another. We've already unknowingly killed two of your operatives, and 'captured' two by mistake. It took both of us a while to figure out who the other was, and then to realize that we're on the same side in this war with the System Lords. We're obviously going to keep coming together out there, and without knowledge of one another, we are going to continue to kill one another, too. We strongly feel that we can form an agreement, an alliance, between the Tau'ri and the Tok'Ra that will be mutually beneficial."

Daniel looked thoughtful for a moment, and then, he asked Per'sus, "Do you want that in list form? I can write it down easily enough."

Per'sus shook his head. "I do not believe so, Daniel. I am aware of your accomplishments, and the aid that you have recently given to us. Since we have been discussing these items and events, for the past two days, in fact, ever since you found the traitor, I have been aware of the urgent need for us to deepen our relationship. As you have pointed out, you do have assets that we can, no doubt, make use of, from time to time, just as we, no doubt, have ways to be of use to you. We do not fight overtly; you do. There may well be a way to combine our methods and both of us will be better off than we were. You have performed several very important services for us, and the offer of access to the host of Amaunet, giving us Amaunet herself, as well as the Mothership and its accoutrements is very generous. We are quite willing to form a close alliance and friendship with the Tau'ri, if we can come to terms, which I have no doubt that we will be able to do. We accept, and consider what you have done and offered, sufficient to hold you as close friends of the Tok'Ra."

"In return, we will help you to advance medically in whatever way that we can, and we will help you with your technology. Much of our technology is naquadah based, as you are already aware. You must have naquadah in your blood, often times even to activate it, and definitely to use it; therefore, much of it is useless to you. However, there is no reason why we cannot work toward adapting it to work for you, or in finding something else that would work for the same purpose. We agree to share intelligence, and set up a system, so that we do not commit, as Jolinar put it, mutual genocide. I believe that we will find other areas where we can help one another. We may even become customers of some of the things that you have that we like or could use. I see many avenues open to us. Is there anything else that you wish to add to this agreement?"

"Possibly. Could we take a few minutes?" Daniel asked, as Jolinar indicated it was time to go the remainder of the way.

"Of course, Daniel," Per'sus answered him, with a smile. "Take all the time that you need."

TBC


	30. Some Wishes Come True Ch 31 AAOF

_**Chapter Thirty-one Summary: **Per'sus is given the tablet from Thor. Jolinar tells them of the offer of Hosts. Selmak tells Jolinar of Egeria's last request. One that she knew nothing about. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication _

_**Mer Cor – **__My Heart _

_**Mer Prinekh - **__My Lifemate, a term of endearment between Symbiote and Host. It can be translated as meaning something like Beloved Lifemate or Sweet Lifemate._

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Thirty-one**_

_**Some Wishes Come True**_

* * *

Daniel nodded his understanding to Per'sus, and stood, going over to Anise and whispering something in her ear. She looked confused, but agreed to do as he asked. While Daniel shut off and removed the recorders, Jolinar shut down and closed the laptops, and Anise turned off and stacked the cubes under a towel that remained after lunch, the others looked on in confusion. Jack stood and threw a jacket over the security camera.

The Tok'Ra looked confused, and had they been less stoic, perhaps, they would have looked alarmed. Jolinar smiled at them, and shook her head, reassuring them that nothing nefarious was on its way, before resuming her seat. Anise and Daniel took their seats, and Daniel looked to Jolinar and General Hammond who both nodded to him to go ahead.

Daniel cleared his throat, as he reached over, and took the tablet that Jolinar held out to him. He turned to the Tok'Ra who were looking at him with gazes that ranged from mild puzzlement to outright mystification. Handing the tablet on to Per'sus, he told him, "The reason all of the recording devices have been shut off is because there's a message on there from Thor. Since we know that your relationship, with the Asgard, is a very tightly held secret, we didn't want to take the chance of someone realizing what that tablet is, or one of us accidently saying something about Thor or the Asgard and your alliance with them. Anyway, that's the reason for this, and we can turn everything back on again, when we finish."

Per'sus nodded his acknowledgement, and activated the tablet, going through the things that Thor had felt they should know. It seemed that an alliance between the Tok'Ra and Tau'ri had not only Thor's, but also, the Asgard Council's encouragement. They felt that it was a wise step. They were very pleased to see that they had met, and they hoped to hear soon that a formal alliance had been signed. So, the Tau'ri had the backing of the Asgard. They were acquainted with and could contact the Nox if need be, which was something that very, very, few could do. The Tollan were being their normal reclusive types, and offering no help to the young race, but they knew them, and were friendly, as long as nothing much was asked of them. Well, it seemed that they made the correct decision in deciding to accept this alliance.

Looking up from the tablet, he smiled slightly, as he handed it back to Jolinar. Turning to the other Tok'Ra present, all of whom were aware of the Asgard and Tok'Ra agreement, he told them, "It seems that Thor and the Asgard Council encourage, and support, an alliance between the Tok'Ra and the Tau'ri."

The tenseness left the others, their faces relaxed, and their eyes cleared. Selmak spoke into the relieved silence, putting into words what they all felt. "It seems that our belief in what this alliance could mean is well founded. An endorsement from the Asgard lays any lingering hesitance down and locks it away." He stopped, for a moment, looking from Daniel to Lantash, before saying, "Are the two of you up to writing this agreement up? We should work at getting this signed, as soon as possible."

Martouf took control, telling him, "I believe that between the two of us, Daniel and I can have a rough draft ready for you in a few hours. Daniel, what do you think?"

Daniel nodded, telling him, "I think we could have a rough draft ready, too, assuming you don't want a lot of fancy language and incomprehensible legalese type words and sentences. It won't be a minutely detailed document. I mean it will be fairly straightforward and all of the I's will be dotted and the T's will be crossed. If the President wants a bunch of fancy stuff in it, though, he needs to send a lawyer."

General Hammond shook his head, even as he answered, "Although, I don't believe that will be necessary, at this point, I'll definitely put a call in to him to see what he has to say. My guess is that he won't care, as long as it isn't ambiguous. As far as having an attorney look it over, I'm sure that the President's advisors will take a look at it; however, I think that the two of you can come up with a document that will please everyone, lack of 'legalese' and all. If anything, the straightforward language will make it easier to understand. Then, as you know, it will be left to languish in some top-secret file, with all of the other files that are hiding there. Someday, it will come to light, but we aren't there, yet." He turned to Jolinar, asking, "Are you ready to tell them of the President's last decision? And do you want this recorded?"

Jolinar shook her head no. "I do not believe that we should record the initial discussion. We can always go over it again, for the recordings, if we think it is necessary," she told him quietly. Then obviously somewhat rethinking her decision, she added, "However, perhaps it would be best if we used one recorder, with a new tape, so that any decisions made can be recalled. By using a new tape, we can always do away with it. It is not that I think there will be things that should not be heard so much as it is that I suspect there might be some discussion of ways and means, which really do not need to be recorded, as all we really need, is the final outcome. Alternatively, someone, or several someones, could take notes."

Daniel nodded and retrieved one of the recorders, putting in a fresh tape, and setting it in the middle of the table, thereby giving his opinion of taking notes.

Jolinar looked toward him as he sat back down. He immediately knew what she was asking him, and he shook his head no. He was not present, when this discussion with the President took place, so he did not feel that he knew enough about it, to be the one giving them this news, and explaining the strings that were attached to it. She acknowledged that she understood, even without him saying anything, since she had actually been expecting his refusal.

She turned to Per'sus and stated calmly, "During our meeting with the President, there was another subject that came up and was discussed. Hosts." All of the Tok'Ra present suddenly sat up even straighter than they normally did and locked their eyes onto her.

Per'sus found his voice, and asked, "What about hosts did you discuss, Jolinar? Do you mean that he talked to Samantha about what being host to a Tok'Ra was like? He was simply curious?"

Jolinar smiled slightly, as she told him, "Well, actually he did talk to her about that, for a short time; however, no. No, we talked about the possibility of the Tau'ri having more hosts for us, as the need arose." She heard Garshaw and Anise gasp in surprise.

"And did he feel that was something that could happen?" Per'sus's face was very solemn, but there was an undercurrent of excitement in his voice.

"Possibly. There would be some…conditions…set on it." She could feel the disappointment flow through them, so she very swiftly added, "I will tell you what we discussed; but first, I will tell you that I do not consider his requests unreasonable, in any way." At that, she felt their hope rise, so she continued quickly, "We talked of helping those that were dying, or injured, and how we could go about doing this. In the end we, my Sam and I, made a suggestion that we felt would benefit both of our peoples."

"The Tau'ri do not have the medical knowledge yet to allow them to repair many types of injuries. They may save a soldier's life, but they may not be able to correct the results of the injury. Injuries such as a severed spinal cord, or a loss of sight, are often beyond their abilities to change…we, however, may be able to do a great deal of good for some of these wounded warriors. I feel fairly confident, that some of the injuries to the spine, the eyes, and similar injuries, we may be able to help, with the healing device. For those that the healing device cannot help, a symbiote could. Our suggestion to the President was that perhaps, some of these young men and women would consider becoming Tok'Ra, in exchange for being able to walk or see again. We did discuss approaching civilians, as well, and there is nothing saying that they will not do that eventually, after we see how this works out. At the moment, though, it was decided that since they are entering a war, and it is a secret at this time, the soldiers were the better choice simply because they are already soldiers and they are very familiar with the non-disclosure of secret information."

"He requested time to think about it." She stopped, drawing a breath, before telling them, "He called two days ago to discuss it in more depth. He has a friend, a doctor, who he trusts implicitly. After his friend signed the requisite paperwork, the President told him things that very few on this world know. Once his friend began to believe that he was telling him the truth, they began to work on the idea of helping these soldiers by using these methods. They devised a way of asking some questions that pointed out whether or not the person would possibly accept a symbiote. Many said they would, even if it meant living with and fighting with the alien race. So, we came to an agreement. They will provide soldiers who volunteer, and agree to the stipulations of secrecy, if we will heal them. There are, though, a couple of stipulations, or conditions, as I said."

Her gaze did not waver, as she explained, "They would like to have some of their soldiers remain here at the SGC. Not many, but some. A number has not been settled upon; however, he is aware that we need our operatives and scientists, too, and giving them a host, only to take them away from a mission in which they are needed would negate some of the benefit. Of course, they would be alive and well, which in itself is worth a great deal. If time on Earth is required of a few of them, then I consider it time well spent. We have only begun to explore this, but one idea that Samantha and I have put forward is the possibility that we could set up a rotation, where a few are assigned here for a set number of months, and then they rotate and a few more come while the others return to the tunnels. Eventually, they would all be assigned to Earth, for a few months at a time, and then return to the Tok'Ra, unless they have taken a long-term mission, of course, in which case that soldier will be either released from the rotation or sent when their mission is completed. The hows and whens can be worked out later on, if we come to an agreement. That is one stipulation."

She paused once more, before she explained, "The other stipulation concerns the actual choosing of candidates and talking to them. They believe that there should be a Tok'Ra healer, or someone that we consider qualified, involved in the process from start to finish. They feel that one of our people would be much better at evaluating a person's suitability, as a host. Since, they do not know what constitutes a good match between a human host and a Tok'Ra symbiote, they believe that it should not be left completely up to them, but should be a joint project and decision. I agree with them. It only makes sense to have us evaluate the candidates. We are more likely to pick up on something that would indicate the person might not adapt well to sharing their minds and bodies, or if the person is not mentally stable enough, although, that is rarely the case, since the symbiote can usually repair the imbalance that is causing it."

Jolinar paused, as she looked around the table, at the still somewhat stunned expressions. She smiled slightly, as she told them, "That is the last thing the Tau'ri would have offered in order to bring about this alliance. Furthermore, although we came to an agreement without needing to offer it, the offer is still valid and is being extended. Hosts, if you think those two conditions are something that you can agree to, that is. And, as I stated earlier, I do not consider their request that a few of their soldiers remain on Earth unreasonable, nor, in my opinion, is their request for assistance in screening, evaluating, and choosing those who wish to become hosts."

Per'sus looked around the table at the Tau'ri sitting there. This…_this _was the thing that they were holding back from them. They would provide hosts. They all looked so calm, these Tau'ri. It was as if they had no recognition of what a gift they were extending to them. Continuing to gaze at them, he suddenly realized that they _did not know_; they did not comprehend the magnitude of what they offered. They truly had no idea, no conception of the treasure they just presented to them. They did not realize that they were literally saving many of their lives, just as they saved Jolinar, and just as they saved Selmak. They had no idea…they did not understand what this would mean to the Tok'Ra. Jacob and Samantha Carter knew, he was sure, but the others had not even an inkling of what their offer would mean to the Tok'Ra. He had been committed to this alliance before, but now, well, this alliance, an alliance of friends, would be just that, or he would die attempting to make it so.

Jolinar remembered something else, and told him, "You need to decide if you want to include the offer of hosts in the alliance agreement, or if you want it to be a separate agreement, one that in no way attaches the agreement to provide hosts with the agreement to become allies."

He nodded. But, although his mind appeared to be racing, he still was not sure he was breathing, and he knew he was not yet functioning well, for this offer had shocked him. He had hoped, of course, that they might offer them one or two more hosts. Even as he cautioned himself that they would not do so, he had still hoped. Nor did he believe that they could be withholding that kind of information. But, they had been, evidently, until after they had an agreement for an alliance.

His mind was beginning to shake off his shock, and to focus on other thoughts now. So, why did they wait to tell them this—and the encouragement from the Asgard? Why withhold two things that would probably ensure an alliance? They withheld those things, for just that reason, of course. They wanted the Tok'Ra to look farther than the surface and learn more about them. To learn of their other—assets—Daniel had called them. If the Tok'Ra agreed before these last two matters came to light, that indicated that the Tok'Ra believed that they truly had something to offer one another…something other than bodies on their side. They were no longer viewed as a convenient commodity with nothing except their bodies to recommend them. It forced the Tok'Ra to 'see' them as beings with abilities and intelligence.

He wondered if they would have said anything, if they had decided that the Tau'ri had nothing to recommend them, that the Tau'ri had nothing to offer them in exchange. What if they had refused an alliance?

Jolinar watched as, for once, emotions showed plainly, as they moved across Per'sus's face. They were faint true, but she had known him for a very long time. She smiled as faintly as his emotions had touched his face. "Of course, they would still have been offered, Per'sus; however, it would have been as part of what they were willing to give in order to see an alliance between us. Does that set your mind at rest?"

He jerked his head around to face her. Seeing the knowledge of his thoughts in her eyes, he took a deep and very obvious breath. "Thank you for telling me that, Jolinar. Had I lost us this chance…"

Jolinar shook her head. "You would not have. It was actually my Sam and I that made the decision to wait. We talked General Hammond into it; however, he did agree that I had good points."

Per'sus nodded again, asserting, "I can understand why you would want the Tau'ri to be judged solely on their abilities, Jolinar. I do not blame you. In fact, it is no more than I should have expected from you. More to the point, you were very wise to do so."

She nodded briefly, before asserting, "They deserve to be considered for their other qualities and abilities, Per'sus. No, they are nowhere near to us in technological abilities; however, they have some brilliant people working on many technologies that will advance them even more. The shipwright will help to send their advancement forward much more quickly. Considering the fact that they are targets of the Goa'uld, they need to advance even more swiftly than they have been. K'haydan will teach them what they need to know to make the jump from where they are, to the road they need to take to end up where they need to be."

"Good. We will have to do what we can for them to see that they are better protected. There is no way that Earth could be evacuated in case of an attack, though. I hope they plan to work on Earth's defenses first. The ship, while helpful, would not be as effective as defenses on the planet's surface."

Jolinar nodded. "I know. Samantha and I talked to the President some about that, too. He has agreed to see to it that it does not get removed to the back of the stack of things that need to be done. As far as evacuating Earth, no, there is no way that they could do so. However, there are plans in place to attempt to save whoever they can. No one knows if it would be possible or not. It would very much depend on the amount of time they had to evacuate. No, they could not evacuate their people, but they could attempt to take their 'best and brightest' as the Colonel calls them. SGC family members, SGC personnel, and then as many as they could that were close by."

"There is one other thing that we must do. We must be very sure that the alliance between us does not become known and, if there is so much as a whisper of it, we need to set a counter rumor loose, basically saying that the Tau'ri do not trust us and are actively hunting us, just as the Goa'uld are. I am considering doing that anyway. It will work until we are caught together. We must hope that by then K'haydan will have at least the first of their defenses in place."

"The weapons that K'haydan has told them about will be much better than those on his old home world. His department warned his government that their defenses needed to be upgraded, but they were ignored. The Goa'uld managed to destroy most of his country, large areas of the rest of his world, and all of his family. He does not wish to watch it happen to his new adopted country, so he will be working hard to attempt to protect it from attack."

"The point is that they had developed weapons which could destroy a ship anywhere in orbit above the planet. The enemy ship would no longer have to be within a certain range of the weapon. Had his world upgraded their weapons, their world would not have been almost destroyed."

"He is fortunate that you recognized his worth and his unhappy situation. With his rescue, you saved both him and hopefully his adopted country."

"I am hopeful that is true." She glanced over and saw Martouf and Daniel in deep conversation, a holo cube and a tape recorder on hand. They would not take long to come up with a draft of what they were convinced was a very good agreement to an Alliance.

Jolinar was frowning and Per'sus was curious as to why. He did not have long to wait. She stood and motioned him to follow her. Once standing far enough away that they could not be overheard, she turned to him, saying, "As you know this entire project is top secret. Most of the government is not aware of it. This makes things very, ah, difficult financially. I am considering helping them out with that. We have more ore than we will ever need or use. We know where there are gold deposits that are sitting abandoned on abandoned worlds. Even though they would have to mine it themselves, it could possibly provide them with funds that would not be scrutinized by their finance committees, since it would not be a part of the budget. If the money is generated by the SGC and supports it and the defense project, then there is less likelihood that anyone will stumble across these expenditures. For one thing, their bills just to open the gate are astronomical. They need a dialing device other than what they have since it would power the gate and get it off their power grid. We know where there are several that could be moved here. There are many ways in which we can help them, that are not obvious. I know that we will set up trade for things they have that we want, too, which will provide more funding. I would like for you to think about these things."

"There is no thinking about it, Jolinar. I will be sending a team to bring a dialing device here as soon as these things are settled. I will also assure them of addresses of worlds that have minerals that they could mine easily that would be helpful to them. In fact, we can also see to it that they have mining crystals to help them to mine the ore. I am sure we will find many more avenues as time goes on." He gave her a wry smile, adding, "I am already quite sure that doughnuts and soft drinks, as well as coffee, will be on our 'to buy' list."

She smiled at him and indicated they should return to the table. As they walked back, she told him, "I will allow you to inform General Hammond of those things on which you would like to draw up a separate trade agreement. The ore mines and dialing device should be extra things on the side that do not show up in any of the agreements. It will be a verbal offer and acceptance, with perhaps some small thing written up later if we feel it is necessary. Agreed?"

He nodded. "Agreed."

As they resumed their places, Per'sus told her, "We will be taking this straight to the High Council, Jolinar. I would appreciate you being there. I will inform them of your addition to the High Council, at that time. There will no doubt be objections to your inclusion; however, they have no recourse. In fact, you could throw them off, if you wished to do so."

"What do you mean by that, Per'sus? Only Egeria had that kind of power. If we want rid of them for any reason they must be voted off, you know this." She scowled at him, as the uneasy feeling from Anise's phrasing her statement about her ascending to her Council seat, returned to her. In fact, earlier Per'sus had used the exact same term. "Per'sus?"

He sighed wishing he had kept his thoughts to himself. Well, there was nothing for it. Looking around, he indicated to Garshaw and Selmak that he needed to talk to them. Jolinar watched this byplay as a bystander, more convinced than ever that something she was going to dislike intensely was coming up.

Once he had the other's attention, he turned back to them, saying, "I hope you will excuse me, Jolinar, Samantha, but I must discuss something with Selmak, Garshaw, and Malek. If you won't feel deserted, I would like to do so now, but I will not be gone long."

Jolinar narrowed her eyes, but there was no other movement to alert someone to the fact that she was suspicious. She smiled slightly again, before assuring him, "Not at all, Per'sus. Samantha and I will be fine, and awaiting your return." Her gentle reminder that she had a question pending that she expected answered did not go unnoticed.

"Of course. As I stated, I will return shortly." He bowed his head in their direction, and walked to where the other three were now gathered.

Watching him, as he walked over to the others, Sam sighed, telling her, _"I think I share your disquiet, Jolinar. This is not a good thing. Perhaps, I shouldn't have told you to ignore Anise's comment earlier," _remorse colored Sam's voice, as she spoke with her Lifemate.

"_No, do not attempt to take the blame for whatever is about to take place, my Sam. I am as guilty of shoving my disturbance and unease aside, and 'sweeping it under the rug', as you would say, as you are of advising me to forget about it. What I do not understand is their obvious nervousness." _

"_Nervousness? They look perfectly calm to me. What makes you say that they are nervous? _Sam was sure that they were doing nothing to give away any emotion, so how could Jolinar know they were nervous?

"_We have only been together a short time, Samantha, and although, we have joined and grown together more quickly than is usual, there are still many areas, upon which we have not touched. One of them is the reading of fellow Tok'Ra. You will be able to discern these things soon yourself," _Jolinar assured her firmly.

"_Okaaayy," _Sam dragged the word out slowly, before continuing normally, _"So, since we don't appear to have anything pressing to do right now, how about you explain what you can see that I can't." _

"_Yes, that would probably be helpful to you. Therefore…Per'sus has crossed his right arm across his body, and his hand is now lying under his left arm, with his hand lying unmoving against his side. Or so it appears. However, if you will watch carefully, you will see that occasionally his hand will curl into a very loose fist, hold it for just a moment, and then release it to its original position. This is always the stance he takes, when he is nervous about something. When he is not anxious in any way, he alternates standing with his arms crossed, and then with them at his sides." _

"_Garshaw is standing cupping her left elbow in her right hand. Her left hand is just below her mouth, her finger is over her mouth, and it is crooked like a hook. It is her thumb that is giving her tension away. If you will notice, she will occasionally run it across the underneath side of her chin. Furthermore, if she were comfortable, it would be her right hand and fingers on and under her chin, or she would not have her hands there at all." _

"_Selmak can be a little harder to discern, because like me, it is a very slight movement. Very infrequently, he tightens his lips very slightly. I narrow my eyes slightly, but I also do it when I am displeased, angry, or suspect something, so it is harder to tell exactly what it means. Selmak is the same way. He will also narrow them in anger and suspicion. It makes both of us harder to read and interpret." _

"_And Malek? What does he do?" _

"_He tends to blink slightly more often. It makes him hard to read as well, because other things also cause a person to blink slightly faster. So, I usually go by his hair instead." _

Sam laughed softly, asking, _"His hair? What does his hair do to let you know he is nervous?" _

"_His hair does nothing. However, the curl that tends to fall forward onto his forehead normally does not bother him, unless it has gotten too long. However, when he is nervous, it bothers him, and he will push it back every once in a while." _They both watched as he brushed it back, obviously impatient with it. Sam giggled, and Jolinar turned her back, so they would not see her smile, if they happened to look their way.

Her giggles were very short lived, and if you asked her, Sam would swear that she never giggles, but for whatever reason, they died a quick death, and she turned her attention back to Jolinar, asking, _"And Anise and, er, Lantash? What do they do when they are nervous?" _

"_Anise rubs the inside of her wrist with her thumb. Lantash is a bit more challenging." _

"_Why is that?" _

"_Because he rarely gives away his emotions. Only with us or because of us, will that iron control of his slip. If you will remember, even in the face of our news to him and Martouf, his distress was masked for a time. Had the news been anything else, his response would have been very much different. There would have been no slight stumble, as he reached the bed, and he would not have sat down on it, with so little grace that he almost fell. He has only two things that give him away, and they are so very small and random that you must watch carefully to even see them." _

"_And they are?" _

_A slight tightening of his jaw, that is immediately released, and therefore, indistinguishable to most because it does not appear to be a clenching of his jaw. Most of the time, he can control it, so it is not rhythmic. And at times, when he is deeply distressed, there is a very slight, and again random, little tick in his left eyelid. It is very mild, as is the jaw clenching, so it, too, is hard to discern." _

Sam was quiet for a moment, before reminding her, _"I remember seeing that happen to him a couple of times, before they told us that they are our mates. It was fairly pronounced, though. Was that because it had to do with us?" _

"_You are correct, Mer Cor. He did develop that outward manifestation of his inner turmoil. And, yes, any emotion he feels about us will make it more obvious." _

"_Well, we'll know when we've teased him, as far as we should, I guess." _

"_Yes, exactly, Samantha. When that begins, then he has passed from annoyed to angry. It is actually best to learn to stop long before we reach that point with him, for he can be very unpleasant and sharp-tongued, when he is exasperated and angry. It is not that we cannot coax him out of it, for we can, but it takes a lot of determination and time to do so. Martouf, too, has a very nasty temper at times; however, Lantash can stop him breaking anything, which is what he does, when he is very angry; Lantash tends to go for a very long walk, if at all possible. Both of them are very passionate in their beliefs and that passion comes out in two ways. One is in our arms; the other is in their anger." _

"_I understand. I was looking at your memories, as you talked to me. I'm almost surprised that Lantash does any diplomatic stuff at all. He does appear to get exasperated with, ah, stupidity, very quickly." _

"_Yes, that is why Martouf does almost all of the actual discussion, while Lantash tends to keep track of all of the details that can sometimes cause such problems later, if they are left out. However, when he wishes to be, Lantash can be extremely charming and charismatic, so he 'can' do the actual diplomacy; it is simply that Martouf appears to have more patience. Because he has a rather hot temper, once it is aroused, Martouf taught himself years ago not to give in to it. His control over it does have its limits, though, finding them is very rare. I believe that I have only seen him lose his control twice in over a hundred years, and it was…interesting." _

Sam answered, her tone dry, _"I'll bet." _She glanced over at the group and saw that they appeared to be making their way across the room to them. _"Well, Jolinar, it looks like we are about to have our curiosity satisfied." _

Jolinar copied Sam's tone and attitude, responding dryly, _"Oh, joy. I can hardly wait. Quick, do not let me be overcome with excitement." _

Sam snorted, and then started to laugh, but when Per'sus broke off from the group and went to talk to General Hammond, she suddenly felt distinctly uneasy again. She felt even more uneasy as both Lantash and Anise were called to where they stopped to wait on Per'sus, and were obviously being told…something. From the feelings she was being flooded with from Jol, she felt pretty much the same way. She muttered scathingly, _"Well, so much for not feeling so apprehensive and tense." _

_Feeling some of her tension leave, as Sam muttered to her, Jolinar suddenly gave a short laugh, telling her, __"Whatever it is, Samantha, I do not get the feeling that it is something that is actually bad news. The feeling I am getting is that 'they' are apprehensive about telling me something that has to do with my seat on the Council because they know that I will not like it. __If I had to guess at what they are worried about telling us, it would be that we are expected to take the position of Supreme High Councilor, which is the highest and most powerful position there is. However, I have no desire to take Per'sus's place.__" _

"_Hm. You know, Jolinar, I think you may just be right. There's about to be a new twist added, too, from the looks of it. Martouf has returned to his former place and is talking rather quickly to Daniel. And, he keeps looking this way. Anise, on the other hand, does not appear surprised or tense over whatever it is." _

Jolinar sighed._ "So he is. I suppose that he and Anise will also join us, for this great unveiling. Perhaps, they believe they should come, so that we do not kill the other three?" _

"_I suppose that's a possibility. General Hammond appears to be surprised, but he's smiling in that way he gets, when he knows damn well that there might be fireworks, but in the end, it isn't going to matter." _She paused, for a moment, scowling at her thoughts, before muttering, glumly, _"I hate that smile." _

Jolinar started to chuckle, before she stopped abruptly becoming even more alert, if that was possible, and slowly inquiring of her, _"Samantha, where is Malek and when did he leave? I do not remember seeing him leave the group; I do not remember seeing him step out of the room, either. He has "always" been able to do that, and it can scare the, ah, bodily functions, right out of you, when he comes back, in the same way he left, and walks up behind you, without you seeing him return. We will go and lean up against the wall. Perhaps, instead of this pointless ruminating on what they have to say, we will instead, slip into a pleasant reconstruction of Lantash and Martouf as they …"_

"_Hey! Hey! This is not the time for X-rated daydreams. Besides you know how real those can be, if you let us 'feel' them again. Let's not give them a free show, okay? And how did you become so unconcerned all of a sudden?" _Sam was mystified, and maybe even a little bit alarmed, by her Lifemate's abrupt change in demeanor.

This time all she got was a smile, as Jolinar explained, "_Sometimes, when I realize I cannot do anything about what is about to happen, I just let it all go, stop fretting about it, and relax. It just took me awhile to believe that I could not do anything about it. Whatever it is that they have to tell me, they are very determined to do it, and get it over with, so that we can carry on with forging this alliance." _

It was Sam's turn to relax. _"Okay, I can accept that. How long are we going to stay here leaning against the wall? We could just go sit down in our place, again. It is facing the doorway." _

"_That is very observant and quite true, my Sam. We will do so. Let everyone else stand, for as long as they wish." _She pushed away from the wall, walked to her chair, and sat down. It really was not a bad spot from which to watch the room. She was well aware that no one would approach her right now, except for their teammates, since they knew nothing about what was going on, and would not be able to answer her questions. Patience was not one of her virtues. She hoped that those who wanted to talk about something that was obviously not going to please her remembered that. She almost smiled as Malek came through the door. He was carrying a…scroll? That was unusual. They had stopped using scrolls except for special awards and such, a long time ago.

General Hammond walked to Daniel and tapping him on the shoulder indicated that he needed to come with him. He then stopped by O'Neill and Teal'c where they were talking. As soon as Daniel joined them, they turned to Per'sus saying, "We'll be right next door, so just come and get us when you're finished."

As they left the room, Lantash and Anise rejoined the group of Tok'Ra and they all approached Jolinar and Sam. Sam was slightly amused, as she told Jolinar, _"They couldn't be more cautious, if we were a wild animal, and they were approaching with something to eat in their hands." _

"_They do almost look like that, do they not? Except for Lantash. Either he and Martouf do not know what is coming, which I do not believe to be the case, or they expect us to realize that they could do nothing about it, whatever it is." _

Jolinar looked around the group and then finally settled on Per'sus. "What is this all about, Per'sus? I am growing impatient. What do you believe is going to annoy or anger me so much? I would simply tell me, if I were you."

He set the scroll in front of him and looked to Selmak and Garshaw. Finally, Selmak told him, "Very well. I will explain what Egeria has done."

Jolinar raised her eyebrows, asking, "What Egeria has done? How can she do anything, Selmak? Or are you saying that she never died?"

"No! No, I am not saying that she never died. As far as any of us here know, Ra executed her. No, this is something that she did before she died. She did it quite some time before she died, actually. The last time that Garshaw and I saw her, she reminded us of her wishes, of our promises, and of our vows to her. Then she gave each of us a scroll, and within that scroll, there were two more. One of the scrolls" Selmak swallowed hard and looked toward the wall, before gaining control of his emotions again. "As I was saying, one of the scrolls was for each of us, each of those of us, who she considered friends, as a part of her, regardless of their beginnings."

Jolinar became very tense, and Sam could feel the emotional pain running through her. _"Mer Prinekh, do not jump to conclusions. I realize that you are feeling hurt because she did not give one to you. However, there is every chance that she never saw you again to give it to you. Please, don't start to grieve; until it is proven that you should be grieving." _

"_Thank you, Samantha. I needed to hear that." _

"_You're welcome and they are looking at you." _

"I am sorry; I was speaking to Samantha. What were you saying Selmak?"

"We do not know to how many she gave them; however, we believe that those of us here and two others have them. There are few of us left. There were two others found, in other Tok'Ra's possessions, for we always search them very carefully, to make sure. Particularly those that turned from the Goa'uld, for they were the oldest among us, just as you are now. The other two were Khepri and Akil. So, we know that they each had one, which we kept. Garshaw and I have them, as do Ma'ashat, Apashe, and Per'sus. Beyond that, we do not know, if there are more, however, if there are others, they will come forth soon now."

"Why would they come forth now, rather than earlier?" She asked, her voice neutral.

Selmak looked at Per'sus who nodded in encouragement. "They will come forth now, if there are any others, because we are about to name Egeria's successor, as she made us promise to do, when the time came. It has finally arrived."

Sam could feel Jolinar's shock, not just a little jolt, but deep numbing shock. "And just what is this successor supposed to do? Egeria was a queen. We have no other."

Per'sus nodded. "That is true, Jolinar. However, Egeria firmly believed that the day would come when we would find a way to genetically change one of us into a Queen. As you are very aware, Anise and the other scientists feel that they are coming closer to being able to do so. We are hoping that once we receive the research information from the Asgard, we will finally succeed. They have been much too busy with their own battles and genetics work to have any time recently to work on our problem. They are sending us the research they have done, and that which is still in process, as well as some other avenues they wished to explore, but have been unable follow up on and with which they believe we will be able to work."

He sighed, saying, "But, that is very far from what we are discussing here, so I will return to it. The one thing that Egeria always regretted was that she was never able to produce a daughter. However, she believed that even if something happened to her, we would one day find a way to produce a Queen. She asked us to promise, and to vow to carry out her wishes. We all did, and that is when we were given the scrolls. She named her successor; the one that she wished to take her place should anything happen to her, as she expected it to do. Whether we found a way to change them into a Queen, or not, did not matter, she still wanted them to assume her role as her successor. If we did find a way, then she wished them to become Queen. She set her wishes out in writing. That is what is in the large outer scroll. Each one is identical in its instructions. It sets out who, when, and what very clearly."

Sam could feel Jolinar's hurt that she had not been trusted with one of these scrolls. And at last, the question Sam could feel burning in her heart came out. "Why was I not given one of these scrolls and asked to promise to carry out her wishes? Surely, she knew that I would do as she asked; that I would fulfill any last request that she had. I do not understand."

Selmak looked helplessly at those around them. Malek and Lantash were told just minutes ago what the scrolls said. Long ago, Garshaw informed Anise and instructed her to hold the scrolls, if anything ever happened to her. She was the only one of them to think to do so. He glanced at them. From the straight posture and frozen mask, he knew that Lantash and Martouf were still shocked, and probably a lot of other emotions, but they understood that they might be needed very soon. A quick glance at the other two assured him that although Malek was still shocked, both of them knew what the reaction could be, as well, and were prepared to do whatever they could to help.

He had to answer her, he knew; he would just tell her straight out. "She was afraid that, if she gave you one, you would disagree with her choice. She believed that you would be adamantly against her chosen successor, as you would not consider them worthy to lead the Tok'Ra, and therefore, you would refuse to accept her decision, and thus, would not fulfill her last request," he finally managed to tell her.

Jolinar still looked…hurt. For once, it could be read in her face. Egeria and she had been very close friends. They were the closest friends that either of them ever had. Egeria had been the sister of her heart, and as that, she had loved her dearly, deeply. She finally, whispered, "How could she think that I would refuse to do, as she asked of me? She should have known that I would honor her last requests."

Selmak smiled faintly, as he told her, "I am glad to hear you say that you would carry out her last wishes, Jolinar." One more pause, and one more breath, and he finally managed to say the words. "I am glad…because Egeria's successor is Jolinar of Malk'shur."

TBC_  
_


	31. Sister of My Heart Ch 32 AAOF

_**Chapter Thirty-two Summary: **Everyone but Lantash and Martouf leave the room, to allow him to talk to Jolinar and Sam, as well as give them his support. He tells them that Egeria left a letter for Jolinar, and they return to the briefing room table to read it. Martouf and Lantash do what they can to make it easier on them. Sam and Jolinar come to terms with their new position and begin to make plans, at least a few that they consider minor. Daniel and Martouf finish the agreement for the alliance. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication_

_**Ni ma'tae qua – **We love you._

_**Mer Cor – **My Heart_

_**Mer Ma'tae Kea – **My Cherished One_

_**Mer Ma'tae – **My Love_

_**Mer Mae'tek – **My Mate_

_**Mer Ma'tae Kea, Tari'esh gan Mer Cor – **My Cherished One, Sister of My Heart_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Thirty-two**_

_**Sister of My Heart**_

* * *

Sam was _stunned_. Jolinar was _stunned_. Stunned…is an odd word. The _act of being stunned_ can make you do, and think about, some very unusual things.

Samantha Carter was a genius. No one would dispute that fact. What only a few of her closest friends, and her father, knew was that occasionally, she would have total recall of something totally bizarre, for no apparent reason. It was like a partial photographic memory of something, but it was never really useful, because she had no control over it, and she didn't have it often enough for it to _be_ useful.

And as so often happened with it, it dredged these often-odd tidbits up, at often-odd, but occasionally appropriate, times. Like now for instance. Sam remembered having to look that word up once, a very long time ago, when she was very young…very, very, young. And for some reason the little memory thing kicked in, and the entire little Dictionary blurb, along with the one in the Thesaurus, had stuck with her. No doubt, in preparation for just this type of moment.

The Dictionary had some accurate descriptions of the word. Stunned: 1. To deprive of consciousness or strength by, or as if by a blow, fall, etc. 2. To astonish, astound, or amaze. 3. To shock or overwhelm. 4. To daze or bewilder by noise etc.

The Thesaurus definitions were quite relevant, as well. Stunned: definition: dazed, shocked. Synonyms: aghast, amazed, appalled, astonished, astounded, bemused, bewildered, blown away, bowled over, breathless, confounded, confused, dismayed, dumbfounded, flabbergasted, floored, frozen, muddled, numb, overcome, overpowered, overwhelmed, paralyzed, petrified, rocked, shaken up, speechless, startled, struck dumb, stupefied, surprised, and taken aback. Yup. They pretty much all fit.

Sam decided that she'd go with numbers 2 and 3 for the Dictionary definitions, and all of those in the Thesaurus. Yup, again. They pretty much fit the moment, the emotions, and the reactions, accurately. She felt and shared every one of those emotions and reactions, so she knew it for a fact. She knew it because they crashed through the two of them, as they sat and simply stared at Selmak and her Dad.

As Sam's memory thing abruptly fled, she turned to her Lifemate, to attempt to help her. She was very sure that, if the Tok'Ra were not used to keeping their faces relatively free of telltale expressions, Jolinar's would be a canvas, and every emotion would be painted there. Hell, she wasn't exactly being Ms. Cool right now, herself, considering that she was mentally babbling to herself about Dictionary and Thesaurus definitions. Nope. Not being Ms. Joe Cool.

But, then her response changed, and it was not what one would have expected. Even she was not sure why she was reacting in this way, but had she been in control, she would probably have been on the floor laughing hysterically. At least at first…and after she finished reading her memory thingy. Feeling the urge to laugh die a quick death, she found her voice, mental though it was, _"They are joking, aren't they, Jolinar? They can't be serious about this. You never told me that Tok'Ra were into practical jokes. Or that symbiotes could become insane…in groups! Jol? Jolinar? Jolinar! Come on; answer me, dammit!" _

Getting no response whatsoever from her symbiote, she cautiously attempted to take control, and found that, if she really wanted to, she could probably take it. Oh, boy. Jolinar wasn't just stunned. She was practically comatose. What should she do? If she could get her to pay attention, she could probably snap her out of this. Maybe.

She was relieved and overjoyed, when she realized that thoughts were starting to return to Jolinar. Rapidly. Oh, yeah, and they weren't much more coherent than hers had been, at first. But, at least, her reactions were much shorter lived, and she skipped the laughing hysterically part altogether.

Now that she had shaken herself free of her stunned stupor, Jolinar stood and walked to the large window. They were in the briefing room that overlooked the Chaappa'ai, the Stargate. She stood staring at it, while her mind raced. How did she get out of this? She had to tell them no, of course. She could not possibly step into Egeria's…job, for lack of a better word.

"_What happened to you carrying out her last request, Jolinar? You can't just dismiss this, without some serious thought. She didn't give you one of the scrolls because she feared your response to her request would be like this. She wanted you, and you alone, to succeed her." _

"_Samantha, I do not believe that I can do this. What if I had died? Then who? No, I am not meant to lead the Tok'Ra. That is Per'sus's place, not mine." _

"_Fine, then leave him, or reappoint him, if you have to, as High Councilor and take the Vice-Councilor position. You do have legitimate reasons to do that." _

"_There is no Vice-Councilor position," _Jolinar informed her quietly, as she reached up and rubbed the back of her neck.

Sam laughed softly. _"Well, I kind of think that there should be, don't you? Make one, and appoint yourself to it. As I pointed out, you have a perfect excuse. You're living on Earth, and the High Councilor should be more accessible than you will be. Not that they can't reach you, but they can probably reach him much more quickly. You might be out on a mission or something. I also think we're getting the cart before the horse, here. We have no idea what you can and can't do. I think we should go back and see. We won't know, until you ask, and we can't make any decisions, or take any actions, until we know if we even can. You know, it is very possible that she didn't mean literally. Maybe it's just as a figurehead, with no real ability to do anything. That's very possible, you know. Maybe even probable," _she paused before adding,_ "at least, until you truly become queen. That's a whole different ball of wax."_

Before they could turn from staring out the window, they felt their mate's arms slide around them from behind. After a moment of stiffness, Jolinar relaxed into their embrace. They melted even more, when Lantash's lips touched the top of her shoulder. Hearing the door open and close, she stiffened again, but he tightened his arms, whispering, "They've gone to the other room, so that we can have a time to talk and…for you and Samantha to read the letter, which Egeria left for you."

She turned in his arms, and leaning back in his embrace she asked, her voice husky, "Letter? She left me a letter?"

"Yes, my love. That is what the third scroll is. The largest is her, well, her last instructions should something happen to her, and she was no longer there to lead the Tok'Ra."

"Which she is not," her answer was swift and short.

"No, she is not," Lantash, told her softly and gently.

Jolinar sighed deeply, before nodding, saying, "Very well, let us see what she said then, shall we?"

Lantash nodded, telling her, "The scroll with her instructions is the larger outer one. The individual letters to each of them, and yours, was kept inside of it."

"That makes sense, I suppose. That way it was protected; it was less likely to become lost," Jolinar, answered.

"Yes. I believe that each of those who received them, except for the two that are deceased, made copies of the instructions scroll, and each of them secreted them away on different worlds, and then gave that information to the others. Are you ready?"

"I am."

Lantash nodded and stepped back from her, allowing her to move forward slightly, before he slipped his arm around her shoulders, as they walked back to the table where the scrolls lay. He sat down with her at the table, and reaching out, he took the letter Egeria left for Jolinar, and then placed it into her hands, along with the larger one; the one that set out Egeria's instructions to her Council, and to the Tok'Ra.

She sat holding it for a short time, willing herself to open and read it. _"Jolinar, do you wish for me to open it for you? Would that help at all? I know this is incredibly painful for you," _Sam whispered to her, letting her know that she was there should she be needed.

"_I honestly do not know, Samantha. I am not sure how I feel, or what I should do. A moment ago, I felt almost numb; now, I feel incredibly brittle, as if the touch of a breeze would break me into a million pieces." _

"_You'll be all right. We'll both be all right. I mean, I didn't exactly sign on expecting to be a Queen, but if that's what we have to do to win this fight, to reverse the negative population growth, and save the Tok'Ra, then that's what we will have to do. We'll just have to be here for each other. And I'm very sure that Lantash and Martouf will be there taking every step we take down that road with us, supporting and encouraging us, reminding us what's at stake here. As much as both of us would like to bury our heads, refuse to acknowledge it, and just walk away, we can't. Our consciences wouldn't let us…and we wouldn't let one another, either." _Sam held her close, gently caressing her, calming her, doing whatever she could to help her through this…just as Lantash and Martouf were.

Both of them would have to walk across the bridge from denial and refusal, to acceptance and determination to succeed. They would do it; it just might take a little time, and a lot of encouragement, to take those steps over what felt like a yawning abyss.

Lantash was rubbing soothing circles on her back, and then leaning in to kiss her temple softly. Closing her eyes, she leaned against his side, as he sat as close to her, as their chairs would permit. He was quite sure that Samantha, if she was not in shock herself, would be doing what she could for her, as well. He thought he heard a shadow of a whisper, and so leaned down to hear her, "…and I miss her still."

Leaving Lantash's shoulder, she sat straight in her chair and gazed once more at the scrolls, before laying the larger of the two on the table, and then, finally reaching out and breaking the seal on Egeria's letter to her. She unrolled it slowly, but it did not wish to remain unfurled. Lantash found some heavy mugs and placed them on the upper corners to hold it in place. She nodded her thanks, sending him a brief smile along with it, before she turned back and began to read.

* * *

To the Sister of my Heart,

My most Beloved Jolinar,

If you are reading this, then I have passed onto my next path, and you have finally decided to accept the Council Seat that I granted to none but you, so many centuries ago. I am sure that it has been centuries, because I know you, and I know that you would not give up physically fighting our enemies, for many long years. However, you must at last have decided that there are other ways to fight them, or you have found something that is so dear to you that you refuse to leave it…or is it a him? I suppose you could have a male host, but I cannot picture you as male. You have always been very much a woman.

You were, and I am sure, still are, a very, very dangerous woman. You are the warrior that could only be defeated by our enemies all banding together. You are the warrior who refused to turn your back on my children or me. I have often thought of that. However, knowing what you gave up, to care for and guide my children, to follow my beliefs, and to remain at my side has often left me awed. I do not believe you ever really knew how very proud I was to fight alongside you. More importantly, I do not believe that you ever really believed that my regard for you was so deep and true.

I wanted to tell you one last time, knowing that this time you would believe the love I held for you in my heart, for you were my sister, at times my mentor, and always my unfailing support. You know that as my last words to you, I would not lie, nor would I name my emotions, as more than they truly were.

Now, I come to my last and most heartfelt requests. I know you will not like them. I know that had I told you my plans, you would have refused to agree. That is why I did not tell you, nor leave my instructions with you, but with seven of my closest and most trusted friends and Council Members. They are all aware of my decisions, my choices, and my last requests. They have all sworn oaths to me promising to carry out my final desires and decrees, and give you all the support that you need, even as they have for me.

They have the instructions, however, this I write only to you. As of this day, the day of your ascension as my successor, I give unto you all of the rights, privileges, and power that the position entails. It will do you no good to destroy this, for there are six more, and you cannot destroy them all, before one of my Council members decides to read my words to you to find out why you are attempting to claim all of them.

The day will come when you will truly be a Queen for our people, but in my sight, you are a Queen now, and you always have been. Until there is a need, this will remain between us, unknown to the others, except, perhaps, for your consort and most trusted advisors. However, should a crisis ever arise, and you need to be able to take full command, or make what may seem to be arbitrary decisions, you will produce this letter, as proof of your power to do whatever must be done.

My Chosen Council will stand beside you and support your claim to my throne, and your right to do, as I would do. Others who may have joined the Council, who disagree with them, are not important. I would advise you to remove them, at once, as they will only be a cause of discord and disruption, and they will do their best to ferment unrest among the others. Never allow this to be done. A divided people are a weak people. It is now your duty to see to it that a division among them does not occur. There is a difference between dissent, and debated discussion. An honest questioning is always welcome; an argument for arguments sake is not. But then, you are the one that taught this to me, so I am only reminding you, so that you will not do this thinking that, you should not wield the power needed to do so. However, I have given that right to you, and I expect you to use it. It is one of my requests. Use it, Jolinar, with my full support.

Your consort will be by your side, if you are mated, and knowing you, he will be your most cherished love, as well as, one of your most trusted advisors. He should sit on your Council, for you may need him there. Depend upon him, as often as you require his strength, as I leaned on you, when I felt the necessity to do so.

The instructions that were given to the seven scroll bearers, will name you as my successor, and will appear to give you a few significant rights. As you know, that is not actually true, but you will not bring it up, until you must, except for those few you trust most. I know you well, and I am quite sure that this is how you will feel about it; this is the way you would wish to do it. It has my approval. It will allow the Tok'Ra to accept your new position slowly, which will be a good thing.

You will have two votes on the Council. You will have the power to remove and add Council Members, as well as name them to whatever positions you wish to use or create. It is now _Your_ Council, Jolinar. You must have people who you trust completely on it.

I have also left instructions stating that you have the power to veto any decision with which you strongly disagree. I know that this is something that you would only do in situations that truly warrant it, if you truly believe that the decision that was made would be a grave mistake or cause undue danger for our people. I trust you to do what is best for my children, our people.

In any matter that is brought before you, if you reach a decision, it is final. They will attempt to change your mind, perhaps, and on occasion, you may actually do so. That is your privilege as my successor, and the leader and future Queen of the Tok'Ra.

This has become long, and I must write it six more times. You do not need to read them all, as they will all be the same, just as the instructions will all be the same.

And so, we have come to the end of all our days together. Rest assured that I will take your memory with me, wherever I must go on my next journey. _Mer Ma'tae Kea, Tari'esh gan Mer Cor, _I leave you with my heart filled with hope, and love, knowing that our cause will triumph in the end, no matter how long it may take to do so.

_I will miss you._

_Egeria_

* * *

Jolinar sat staring at the scroll, even after she finished reading it. Taking a deep breath, she turned and looked at, she realized, Martouf. At some point, they had switched places. She was very sure it was because Martouf wished to be with them, as well, and Lantash would grant that wish, at once. He may even have suggested it, knowing that Martouf and Jolinar loved as deeply as he himself loved her.

"Are you all right, _Mer Ma'tae_? Is there anything at all that we can do to help you?"

Jolinar sent him a small smile, replying, "You are already giving it, _Mer Mae'tek. _Both of you have been giving us your support from the first moment." Her smile grew, and he heard a very small, somewhat wavering, chuckle. Samantha says to tell you that, since you had no clue about any of this up until they told you, just the fact that you are here and giving us support through it means a lot. She says to tell you that it is very encouraging that you and Lantash are not "freaking out" or reacting in any negative way. It is a very large help to us. She is very correct, _Mer Cor_. _Ni ma'tae qua._"

Martouf smiled sweetly at her; it was the smile that always melted her heart. "Lantash says to tell Samantha that we had some time to "freak out" while they were talking about how to tell you. He believes that Malek was in almost as much shock as we were. He said to tell her that the emotions are still roiling about, but they are no longer controlling us, as they did at first."

"It is a very…unsettling…thought that we could one day be consorts to the Queen. The responsibilities it will entail are very daunting, however, we both feel that as long as we are together, continue to share our love with one another, and give our unconditional support one to the other, then we will manage fine…and so will you and Samantha, Jolinar. Lantash and I are sure beyond a shadow of a doubt. You will make a very good and wise Queen for the Tok'Ra. The majority of the Tok'Ra will agree. You and your abilities are very much respected, as you should know. What dissent comes will be drowned out by the loudness of the approval, of that I am very sure."

Martouf cleared his throat, before telling her, "Lantash and I are wondering how Samantha is responding to this change in your…position. Is she…all right with it?"

Jolinar's smile grew slightly, as she told them, "Well, I "spaced out" at first, so I have only her memories to go by, but she seems to have had a rather…unusual…first and second reaction. The first involved Dictionaries and Thesauruses, the second found her laughing hysterically and accusing me of keeping the information that, symbiotes went insane in groups, from her. And now, she is scolding me for telling you that she did indeed "freak out", for a short time, anyway."

Martouf's eyes sparkled and he chuckled, at the idea of their calm and logical Samantha becoming hysterical, even if it was only for a short time. They would have to remember it to tease her with once things became settled. They would also request a more in depth explanation of the Dictionaries and Thesauruses. But for now, it was probably time to summon the remainder of the council.

Before he could suggest it, Jolinar placed Egeria's letter into his hands. "You should read this. There will only be those of us here that will know of its contents."

"Are you sure you wish us to know what is in it? After all, Jolinar, it is a personal letter to only you."

"I believe that it is imperative that you do so…and so did Egeria. You know what is in the scroll with the instructions in it, do you not? There is further…information…concerning it in her letter."

He nodded, unrolling the scroll, as Jolinar had, using the mugs once more to hold it down. Reading through it, they realized that the instructions scroll was, as Jolinar just told them, the preliminary announcement only. It was to ease the way for the transition. Well, they could do this. So, they might have to take a more decisive role sooner than they thought. It would be all right. Their Queen had truly respected and cared deeply for their mate, of that there was no doubt. Martouf sighed, as they finished reading it, and returned it to her. Seeing the pensive look on her face, as she took the scroll from him, he leaned forward and captured their lips with his. The kiss promised everything. It promised their loyalty, support, trust, and most of all, limitless love and caring. As they broke apart, they gazed deeply into the other's eyes. What they saw there, assured them that what the kiss promised, so did the heart.

She smiled at them, straightened in her chair, drew a deep breath, and told him, "You should probably go get the others. We may as well get this done. We still have an alliance to discuss and agree on."

Martouf nodded, gave her another brief kiss, and left to alert the others that she was ready to discuss what was occurring. As he entered the room, they all stood, their anxious gazes going to him, trying to discern her response from him. He smiled slightly, saying, "It is all right. She is ready to talk to all of you, and she appears to have accepted it as inarguable and inevitable. She will not go against Egeria's wishes. She is ready to meet with, ah, her Council."

He noted the surprised looks on their faces. Remembering what was in the instructions, Per'sus frowned, and was about to question Martouf's statement, when he answered, before Per'sus could even ask, explaining, "The instructions document is only preliminary. There are further instructions in Jolinar's letter from Egeria."

As they left the room and walked the short distance to the other room, Selmak nodded, saying, "I rather suspected that there would be more told to her. Are we to be told, then?"

Martouf's eyes glowed as Lantash came fore, saying briefly, just before he opened the door to the briefing room, "Yes."

When they entered the room, Jolinar was once more looking out the window; however, she turned at once, and nodding toward the table told them, "Please read my letter from Egeria. I have made some decisions. Then we must return to the alliance, as it is of more import than this, at the moment."

She watched as each of them read the letter, and as soon as it left the last ones hands, she returned to the table, but remained standing behind her chair. "Since it is impossible for me to be the head of the Council, Per'sus will remain in the position of Supreme High Councilor and with that authority. He can always consult me if he feels it is necessary. I have opened three new positions on the Council. I have taken the first one, which is the High Councilor and I am instituting the position of Vice-Councilor, first and second. Malek will become the First Vice-Councilor, since he is rarely on missions, among other reasons, and I am appointing Garshaw as my Second Vice-Councilor. I am not appointing Lantash and Martouf to the council, at this point in time, as I feel it would probably be too much change all at once. However, I am naming him as an advisor to the High Council, and as primary diplomat, as well as a member of my personal Advisory Council, which will consist of those of you here. Eventually, I expect each of you to take on specific duties, but again, that is for later discussions."

"There are things that I have seen within the Tau'ri military that make a great deal of sense—and many that make no sense at all. Eventually, I may decide to use some of their ideas, but not necessarily, as they execute them."

"We have experts in certain areas that we are not utilizing. That must change. Martouf is a prime example of a wasted resource. We have several others that are admirable diplomats and negotiators…they will be under his and Lantash's oversight, and they will be used accordingly. I want suggestions from any of you that believe they know of someone that should be working with them. The same thing will be done for other areas, other specialties, however, that is not for now. Know, however, that those "other areas" are what each of you will be overseeing, in the future."

"Martouf and Lantash's position will go into effect now, as I expect them to work with Daniel on the alliance. I have already told you that those of you here will form my Advisory Council. You are my most trusted advisors and comrades. We will meet separately from the High Council, which will meet at Per'sus's discretion and of which we are all still members, as well."

"I value each of you. You all have qualities that make you indispensable to me. Now, more than ever, I will need you, your advice, your counsel, your opinions, and your arguments. Selmak and Garshaw are both needed on her base for now, as Thoran and his minions are still a disruptive force. Malek will return to his base soon, but he will be available for consultation there. I appointed him as First Vice-Councilor because he rarely jumps to conclusions, and usually gives very good, logical advice, which he rarely allows to be influenced by anything, but the facts of the situations."

She looked around at her new Council, and wasn't surprised to see some that were slightly dazed. "Have I forgotten anything?"

Garshaw shook her head, before answering, "No, I do not believe so, Jolinar. I always forget just how quickly you can make decisions and adapt to changes. This is very reminiscent of your war councils centuries ago. You always were decisive and quick to put needed changes into place and begin using them. I am sure that Egeria counted on these traits, when she made her own decisions, knowing that once you accepted your place as our leader, you would lead. I, for one, welcome you in that position, and will pledge my fealty to you, as of now."

Jolinar smiled at her, answering, "Thank you, Garshaw, your vote of confidence is much appreciated."

Per'sus spoke up next, repeating Garshaw's pledge, and thus it went, until all of them had pledged their support—and more importantly—their loyalty. She thanked them, for both their loyalty and their support, and then brought them all back to the main reason they were on the Tau'ri world. "I thank all of you; your loyalty and support are greatly appreciated."

She smiled rather wryly, before reminding them, "However, we now need to return to your reason for being here. We need to recall the Tau'ri, and Per'sus can explain this change to them, while Martouf goes over what Daniel has no doubt come up with, to see if he needs to add, rephrase, change, or delete anything. Since we will not be doing any more here, until after we take this to the High Council, there is no reason that Selmak, Per'sus, Garshaw, Malek, and Anise cannot return to the tunnels to alert the High Council members that they will soon to be summoned to a special council meeting. They can do that, if Daniel and Martouf are still working on the document, and I assume they will be doing so for at least a little longer."

"When you tell them about the meeting, do not discuss its purpose, other than to say that some things have come up that need taken care of right away. When you have them informed of the meeting, return here, for we will need to go over the document together to be sure that it is acceptable to us. Once we have gone over it, and approved it as the Advisory Council, then we will take it before the High Council. Per'sus will make his announcement first, so that we can get that out of the way. After we listen to them for short time, Per'sus or any one of you can point out that there is nothing to debate. It has been decreed by Egeria, and that is simply the way it is."

"Then we will place the alliance before them. Per'sus will handle this, as he is head of the High Council. I want that to be very plain. Do this in whatever way you normally would, Per'sus. Pretend I am not there."

He sent her a smile, telling her, "That is hard to do, Jolinar. It always has been. But we will contrive. Now, I will go talk to the Tau'ri, explain what has transpired, and tell them that we have finished our Council business. There is no longer any reason for them to remain away from their own briefing room. I will give them our thanks for its use."

Jolinar nodded her approval and then moved back to the window. _"Samantha, I need some respite. Please take control for me." _

"_No problem, Jolinar. Let me know when you feel like you need to take over again." _

She caressed her host, telling her, _"That may be a while, Mer Ma'tae. I am feeling particularly wrung out. Emotional turmoil takes its toll even on us." _

"_I know. I can feel it, too. Why don't you take a short nap? I'll wake you, if you are needed." _

"_Thank you, my Sam. I believe that I will do so. Assure Lantash that I am fine, simply feeling worn and tired. This day is not yet over." _

"_I will. Sleep now." _

Sam turned to face him, as Lantash walked over to them. She gave him a brief smile. "She is taking a nap right now. Was it important that you speak to her?"

Lantash cocked his head slightly and sent her a quizzical look, before saying, "I was simply coming to be with my mates. Both of them, Samantha. Martouf and I both wish to be with you…yes, both of you. You will both need our support, perhaps, more than you ever have. Yes, I know that you have never needed us before, however, as a possessor of Jolinar's memories you will feel as if you have."

He glanced over at the others and found that they appeared to be in a serious discussion, thus ignoring them. He stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, even as he turned them, so that his back was to those in the room, shielding her from their curiosity. He could see the faint doubt in her eyes, as she looked at him. A new host sometimes had a very hard time understanding their love for them and, even after they believed they had accepted it as fact, there would be periods or incidences of doubt. And it was true that it did not normally grow so quickly or deeply.

He brushed her hair back from her forehead and leaned over to press a kiss there where he had pushed it aside. He answered the doubt in her eyes. "Samantha, both Martouf and I have fallen in love with you very quickly. It is not false or shallow. It is very hard to explain to someone that has never before shared love as a Tok'Ra. Because you and Jolinar are now one to us, we love you both. However, we also love each of you separately. The love we have for you has moved into our hearts and anchored itself there. It will not cease, fade, or die. Please stop believing that we care only for Jolinar. We love you, we love Jolinar, and we love both of you."

Sam gave him a small brief smile, before telling him, "It's very strange to me. I feel and share her love for you, both of you, and yet, I can also feel my own. I've never felt this way this quickly before. In fact, I've never felt this deeply before, not ever. In some ways, it scares me half to death, but in others, it makes me feel more alive than I ever have, too. I'm very glad that the two of you are here for us, especially Jolinar. It is such a responsibility that has been placed on her, on us, I suppose I should say, but I think it will be worse for her. And you are right; we will need both of you. Your strength and your love." She placed a kiss on his chin to emphasize her words, and their arms tightened around her, holding her close. Then he loosened his arms and sighed, as he heard the door open. It was time for them to get back to work.

He could not resist her lips, though, and so, Sam was thoroughly kissed, before he turned and strode over to the table where Daniel had spread his papers out around him. Seating himself next to him, he asked quietly, "What do you have so far, Daniel? Now that our—meeting—is over, I am free to help you once again."

Daniel nodded and handed him several papers. "It's mostly notes that I took down, as we listened to the recordings, but I think we pretty much caught everything. We all watched them, and each of us caught things, so I would guess that we missed very little. If we did, we can do an addendum later to add it on, should it become necessary. Right now, I'm pretty much trying to just arrange it so we can get a rough draft up and going, so you'll have something to take to your Council."

Martouf came forward and nodded his agreement, as he began to look over Daniel's notes. They were very concise and as he skimmed them, Lantash checked them with his mental list of details. He added one or two details that he had that were not included. Daniel watched as he added them, and he nodded his agreement.

As Martouf finished the last page, he laid it on the table, telling him, "I believe that we are ready to begin writing it up. What do you think, Daniel?"

"I agree. And the sooner we get it finished, the sooner you can take it to the High Council. General Hammond talked to the President and outlined the agreement, as best we could, before we had it written, and he's very pleased with it. If Per'sus is too, then I guess we have an alliance. Or, er, does Jolinar have to be the one to agree now? And before you answer that, how is Sam—and Jolinar, too—taking all of this? Is she…are they all right?"

Martouf smiled slightly, telling him, "Jolinar, said that she 'spaced out' and although we are not sure what that is, from what she said, we feel that it must mean that she, ah, became unresponsive to outside stimuli. Samantha, according to what Jolinar told us, became…well, I am not sure exactly. She said something about quoting Thesauruses and Dictionaries, and laughing hysterically, before accusing Jolinar of not telling her that Tok'Ra become insane in groups. Does that sound as if she is doing well, Daniel?"

Daniel snickered, and then laughed outright. Nodding his head, he told him, "Oh, yeah, that would be Sam. She'd have a, ah, period of adjustment, before she began to be rational again. I'd almost bet she had a total recall episode. I have to wonder what it was about since it had to do with reference books. I'll have to remember to ask her sometime. From your answer, I'd say she's coping pretty well. She didn't stay freaked out for very long from the sound of it. She'll be okay.

Martouf nodded and then he gave Daniel's other question some thought, finally giving his opinion, "They wish the council to agree to it. Then, I will guess that both of them will sign it. Either probably could, since Per'sus is retaining his position, but they will probably decide to affix both of their signatures to it."

Daniel nodded, agreeing, "That would make sense," even as he scribbled away, putting the things that Martouf pointed out as needing to go together into blocks of text. Neither of them were aware when the Tok'Ra left to warn the Council members to be ready for a meeting. Nor were they aware when Jolinar talked to the President, and told him what had transpired, and how she felt about the alliance and agreements being drawn up. They did know that something was going on when they heard her laughing aloud.

She hung up the phone and turned toward the others. "Hey, what was that all about, Jolinar?" O'Neill looked at her expectantly.

She did not disappoint him. "It seems that somehow the tape of Maybourne's, ah, interrogation of Sam and me ended up in the President's hands. He informed me that a Queen beats a Colonel anytime, and that the debate would be over, before it began, since I would now be considered the same rank as the President. I wish I could be there if he hears about it. Of course, I informed him that I am simply her successor, and now leader of the Tok'Ra, not a Queen, but he said it was all the same, whatever I wanted to call myself. Maybourne definitely has to salute me first, and probably bow, as well. It could be so amusing. It is a shame there is no reason for him to visit with us."

"I'd give a lot to see that myself. I suppose we could sacrifice Marty and Lantash."

"I heard that, Colonel O'Neill, and I refuse to be bait for you and my mates. You must find another reason for him to visit." Martouf looked up from his task and grinned at him.

O'Neill laughed, telling him, "Party-pooper."

"I will leave you now, gentlemen. You can harass my Sam instead of me. My nap was interrupted, and I am now going to go back to sleep, until I am needed again."

"Sure, desert us, Jolinar. Oh, well, we can talk to Carter, just as easily, I suppose."

Her eyes glowed, and Sam smiled at him, saying, "Was there something in particular you wanted to talk about or are you just bored?"

"Bored out of my mind, Carter. Any suggestions?"

"Well, Sir, if I was you, I think I'd take care of some of the reports that are waiting for you. The General's going to want them, as soon as this alliance is a done deal. You have the time now to take care of them."

Jack O'Neill looked at her with disbelief writ plainly on his face. "Carter, that is just almost heresy. Do you want to ruin the General's entire week? I give him something to look forward to and enjoy."

"If you say so, Sir."

"The only thing you give the General is a pain in his—neck, Jack. Now, why don't all of you go somewhere else? We should have this done in…" Daniel paused and looked at Martouf, who swiftly looked at what they already had.

"…as soon as we finish this page, you can use your computer to type it up. I would guess an hour and a half at most."

"You have an hour and a half to kill, Jack, so go kill it."

Jack O'Neill snorted, as he headed for the door. "Fine, I'll go find Teal'c and hang with him. We'll both be back in an hour and a half. How about you Carter? You going to go do something for an hour or so?"

"Yes, Sir. I have to talk to the General about something. I'll be back in an hour or so, too." She walked toward Martouf, as she answered the Colonel, and upon reaching him, she gave him a soft lingering kiss, and whispered, "_Ni ma'tae qua_, _Mer Cor._"

Martouf smiled at her and returned her soft kiss with one of his own. _"Ni ma'tae qua, Mer Ma'tae Kea," _he whispered in return. "We will see you soon."

Sam smiled at him once more, nodded, and headed toward the door. She needed to see the General and discuss some remodeling to be done to what would become their 'apartment'. She hadn't mentioned it to them, but while they were on the phone to the President, Jolinar had asked him, if there were any regulations that would prevent them from making some physical changes to their rooms. She had explained that all they now had were two bedrooms and two kitchenettes. The four of us would pay for the remodeling.

He had immediately told her to have the area remodeled to suit her, but the government would pay for the changes. She told him that was not necessary. Their funds were more than sufficient to cover the expense. They ended up agreeing to split the cost. She had also suggested that perhaps they should redo Teal'c's room, as well, since the crews would already be there. After all, he too, was a displaced alien who was living in one room. He had agreed to that as well. K'haydan, they still hoped would agree to move to base housing where those he needed to work with lived and worked. She agreed and assured him that she would continue to encourage him to make friends and move away from the mountain. If they could not do so, then eventually, they would also remodel an area for him. They also made plans for his friend, Dr. Kennedy, to visit. All in all, Sam felt it was a good constructive conversation. So, she needed to see the General and get those projects started, too.

It would soon be time to face the High Council, so in the meantime, she was going to do something that she wanted to do, and not that she had to do. Raising her hand, she knocked on the General's door, opened it when he told her to enter, and sat down to begin discussions of how she would like to make an apartment for them, and another one for Teal'c. The next hour and a half passed pleasantly. The General's phone rang and it was Daniel. They were ready to go over the draft of the agreement and terms of the alliance. They were one-step closer to achieving their goal.

TBC_  
_


	32. Announcements Ch 33 AAOF

_**Chapter Thirty-three Summary: **The meeting of the High Council takes place. Some opposition. Back to the SGC and a surprise visit from someone, they weren't expecting. All in all, it was a 'good day'. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-13 _

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communications_

_**Mitka – **butt, ass _

_**Ashteka keshta; Ashteki keshta - **We will meet again: Until we meet again; The first is usually used between close friends, lovers, or mates. The second meaning is for casual friends and acquaintances._

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Thirty-three**_

_**Announcements**_

* * *

Sam stared at the gathered Tok'Ra from the back of her own mind, not feeling any need at all to be in control, and being perfectly happy to allow Jolinar to handle things. Thoran kept throwing her looks of intense dislike, and he did not even know who she really was, yet. As the last two missing High Council members entered the chamber, she smiled at them, and then, turned back to the open doorway as the sub-council members entered behind them. Per'sus's face darkened, but Jolinar touched his hand briefly, and when he glanced at her, she shook her head no.

Sub council members, were those that a regular Council Member appointed to take their place if, for some reason, they could not attend. Most Council Members had at least one person designated to take their place. A sub-council member's vote could only be reversed and changed by the actual Council Member; otherwise, it was considered valid. While not as important as being a full Council Member, it was an honor to be chosen to represent one of them. Therefore, it was sometimes a position that was sought after by those with an interest in becoming Council Members themselves.

A High Council sub-council member was sometimes chosen from within the Base Council Members, although there were instances, when someone completely removed from the Councils would be appointed to either sub-council or full Council status. When they joined the Council, Lantash and Martouf would not fit into that category, since they were moving onto the actual High Council and were neither a Base Council Member nor a sub-council member. Although, since they were advisors and diplomats, who often attended meetings, they were attached to it in a way. Still, there would be those that would object to their appointment…not that it would do them any good to do so. Jolinar had decided that it would be this way, and this was the way it would be. Oh, yeah, Thoran and friends were in for a very rude awakening. Sam smiled to herself, for she knew from Jolinar's memories what a pain in the _mitka_ they were.

Thoran and three of his minions were members of the High Council, and so there were four sub-council minions/members present. None of the other members had alerted their subs that there was a meeting, so they were the only ones in attendance here. It was not unusual for sub-council members to attend meetings; however, rarely were they invited to a special council meeting. It was not against the rules; it just was not usually done. Special meetings could, and often did, cover very sensitive matters, and the fewer that knew what was discussed, the better. As High Councilor, Per'sus could tell them to leave, and it was obvious that had been his intention. Jolinar saw no reason to do so. Better to have your 'dissenters' where you could see them, and they would know soon, anyway. It would be better if they actually saw what was about to happen, take place.

Jolinar and Sam scanned the faces of those present. Other than Malek, Anise, Garshaw, Selmak, and Per'sus, the other members were Ma'ashat, and A'pashe, the two other scroll bearers, Lustesh, Kintash, Thoran, Daresh, Marmek, and Cormak. The last four did everything they could to cause controversy and disruption…all under cover of 'debating' every question or action that came before the council and was taken under consideration. Their tactics would be changing soon; Jolinar would see to that. If they had a legitimate argument, she would certainly listen. She was not stupid, and legitimate questioning of an action was needed regardless who brought the matter up. Sometimes someone else saw something important that others had missed. That was one of the purposes of a Council. On the other hand, arguments for argument's sake would no longer be tolerated. Per'sus was still High Councilor, although actually, his more accurate title was Supreme High Councilor, but Jolinar would not stand back and allow him to be hassled any longer. He felt he had to allow it. She did not and would not.

This was a new High Council Chamber and Per'sus had told them exactly how to build it. It was a fairly large room, for times when the meeting was open to all to attend. There was plenty of seating, with tables set up in a rectangle that was open on one end, and that seating area was for Council Members. Seating for others was set up around the room in a normal pattern for a meeting. At the open end was a raised area, where a long table, a podium, and seats were set. The Advisory Council sat at it and this was a definite change in the way that it was normally done.

Per'sus stood from his seat next to the podium and faced the now fully assembled High Council. All were curious as to why a meeting would be called at such a time and so quickly. It was also unusual for part of them to be flanking Per'sus as they were. It was puzzling them. They were also curious about the Tok'Ra sitting next to Per'sus. Who was she? They were all aware that Selmak's new host was male, so the new unknown male was no doubt Selmak. However, the woman was not anyone they knew, but they could tell that she had a symbiote. They had no idea as to whose host she could be.

He nodded to Malek and Anise. They stood and began to hand out folders to each of the Council Members, something with which they were unfamiliar. Normally information was sent to their data-pads. "Please wait until they are all handed out to open them." The sub-council members were not given any as they had not been expected and, besides that, they were only for the Council Members.

Once they were all handed out, Per'sus began his announcement, "Inside these folders you will find a copy of Egeria's final requests, instructions, and orders to us. The original scroll, as you can see, is on the table. If anyone wishes to dispute its authenticity, there are six more, all written by Egeria not long before she was taken from us by Ra. They were given to seven of us. Anyone who wishes to examine them is welcome to do so, although, they are not all here at this time, since one was deemed sufficient. Please read it."

Ma'ashat was the first to finish reading, since she had one of them herself, and she looked at Per'sus, asking, "What is the point of this, Per'sus? Jolinar is dead. Much as I would wish that this could be carried out, there is no one else named to succeed her. Is there something more that has not yet been given…"

"I agree," Thoran interrupted her. "This is nothing more than an outdated and useless document. I suppose that it might have some historical significance, but that would be all. Why have you given this to us?"

Ma'ashat sent Thoran an irritated glance since she was not finished speaking, and as soon as he concluded his statement, she turned back to Per'sus, resuming, "As I was saying, is there more to this, Per'sus? It would be completely out of character for you to call a special gathering of the High Council simply to hand out copies of an outdated and useless document. What is there about this that is not obvious?" As she finished, she flashed another annoyed look at Thoran. He was always so quick to dismiss things, without looking deeper into the subject. It aggravated her.

Per'sus nodded, as he answered her instead of Thoran, "You are correct, Ma'ashat. There is very much more than appears on the surface." He paused and glanced at each of the Council Members. All of them were giving him their undivided attention. "Jolinar of Malk'shur is not deceased, and has, on this day, ascended to Egeria's throne and position. She has taken the burden of leadership and all it entails as her responsibility."

Ma'ashat turned immediately to look more closely at the young woman sitting beside Per'sus. There was no doubt that she was Tok'Ra; she had to be Jolinar's host. Holding her gaze, her voice husky with strained emotion, she asked, "Jolinar? You are truly back among us?"

Jolinar smiled, stating briefly, "I am." Not waiting for Thoran's outburst, she continued, "My host's name is Samantha Carter. Her father, Jacob Carter, is Selmak's new host. I imagine you met him earlier, when he returned to help alert all of you to the upcoming High Council meeting."

Thoran, no longer able to contain his ire, grated harshly, "Just how do we know that this is indeed Jolinar? Has her host been questioned? Has she been checked by the medical staff? I, for one, want proof of this claim. I insist she be rendered unconscious and her host questioned."

"We have already ascertained that she is Jolinar. Her medical records prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt," Per'sus retorted, obviously irritated. "Do you honestly believe that we would simply allow an unknown symbiote to ascend to Jolinar's position?"

Anise stood up, before the confrontation could escalate into a full argument. "I have the results right here, for anyone that wishes to see them. I will do them again now, if the Council Members truly believe that we are lying, as to who this is."

Jolinar leaned back, obviously unconcerned with the volatile situation. She knew that it would be resolved. They all knew that Thoran would cause problems. It was for the Council to vote against him, or Anise would redo her scan and pass the results around. They all had data pads that could call up the needed information from Jolinar's other scans and compare them. It was very conclusive and if they truly wanted Jolinar put to sleep, so they could question Samantha to prove she was not being suppressed, Sam would probably be very unhappy. How could they lead, if Jolinar was not even trusted not to constrain her host?

Knowing that Sam wanted control, Jolinar released to her. She immediately swung her gaze around and looked at Thoran. With her gaze fully ripe with disdain, and her voice heavy with contempt, she practically threw her words at him, "If you really believe that Jolinar of Malk'shur would keep me a prisoner in my own body, then you are either stupid or insane. Now, I suggest that you just cool it, because no one is putting Jolinar to sleep, unless it's me, and since that's not too likely to happen, I doubt she gets any extra rest any time soon." Sam continued to stare at him for a short time. When she finally spoke again, her voice had lowered, and it was flat and cold with intent, as she warned him, "Don't ever insinuate anything like that again. I'm not as restrained, or as forgiving, as Jolinar is, and you could find yourself on my bad side…someplace you truly don't want to be."

"_He's all yours, Jol." _

"_Samantha, what were you doing? He is attempting not to swallow his tongue right now. That was totally out of character for you. You deliberately and blatantly misled him about your personality." _

"_Yeah, about that. It's an old American custom called bluffing. Other Tau'ri use it too, so you should watch out for it yourself. Dad's really good at it, as well. No doubt, it will rub off on Selmak…and you, probably." _

Jolinar was chuckling as Sam gave her control, and it was all she could do to stop before Thoran decided she was laughing at him. She couldn't wipe the grin off her face, though.

"_You should make up something to tell him, Jolinar. Otherwise, he'll blame you." _

"_Yes, I am aware." _

Jolinar sighed before turning to Thoran to tell him, "Samantha does not take well to having her, or my, for that matter, honor challenged. She is," she emphasized, "after all, Tau'ri. They can be somewhat brash and outspoken. You should probably get used to it, since her father and Selmak will be remaining here."

She turned back to the other members of the Council and asked, rather quietly, "Does anyone else have any questions or comments?"

A'pashe sent her a rather amused look, assuring her, "I do not see why anyone would, Jolinar. It is quite obvious that you are who you say you are. If anyone needs further proof, I am sure that Lantash can vouch for you. He and Martouf would, no doubt, recognize their own mate."

"Very true."

Thoran still wasn't quite ready to give in completely. "Why were you hidden yesterday then, when the Tau'ri came to our base?"

Jolinar looked to Garshaw and raised an eyebrow, indicating that she should probably answer that one.

Nodding in response, Garshaw turned to him, with the information for which he asked. "Jolinar and her host, Samantha, were almost killed by the Ashrak sent by Cronus. The Tau'ri killed him, unfortunately, not before he almost killed them. Their healers saved both of them; however, Jolinar knew that she was missing some memories. One of them pertained to a traitor amongst us. Without specific information, she could not announce that fact, because all she did remember was that it was a Council Member. She came to use the memory recall device, to see if she could pull the name forward, but she had to remain undetected, while she attempted to do so. Before she could find those memories, not only did she have to return to the Tau'ri world to bring her father back to become Selmak's host, but one of her teammates found the traitor for us."

She turned back and addressed the entire Council, saying, "In case some of you have not heard, I must tell you that Cordesh was the traitor. He was executed in a vanishing tunnel as we moved our base. He was also the reason we moved bases yet again after that." Several of the Council Members, those from other bases, looked surprised and somewhat shocked.

She paused and then, added, more quietly and sadly, "We do not know why Cordesh became Shol'va. The Tau'ri suggested that perhaps he was brainwashed, while he was in captivity, and that is a possibility. His host committed suicide in a tunnel, so we were unable to question him, and Cordesh refused to answer our questions. We had no choice but to execute him."

"It was pointed out, by the Tau'ri, that, even though he could have given coordinates to bases where the strikes by the Goa'uld could have been swift, bases where there were no operatives in a particular System Lord's court, and no scouts nearby, he never did so. He gave only coordinates of bases where they would be warned in sufficient time, until he gave them our base's coordinates, which he no doubt did, knowing that Samantha Carter might have some of Jolinar's memories available, and that she would accuse him, thus exposing him. It was suggested that even brainwashed; his years of loyalty would not allow him to give up bases that would have no chance of escape. It is a…comforting thought, for Cordesh was a faithful and loyal Tok'Ra for many centuries."

Jolinar had resumed her seat, and now, Garshaw did the same, thus returning the meeting to Per'sus. He glance encompassed the entire Council, before he questioned them, "Are there any other questions or objections?"

A'pashe looked at Jolinar, before switching her gaze to Per'sus, Garshaw, and Anise. They waited, knowing she had a question. "Do we know if Jolinar is now…fully recovered? Do we know if she has regained enough of her memories to function as our leader safely, without endangering any of us or our bases?"

Anise stood to answer her question, saying, "She is very sure that all of her memories returned when Colonel O'Neill named Cordesh as the traitor. There was not much remaining unknown to her, as many things came back, as time progressed, but the answer to your question is that there is nothing that will impair her ability to lead the Tok'Ra. She now has total recall."

"Thank you, Anise. That is the only question I had."

Lustesh stood, and stated quietly, "I personally have no objections to this, and if I am reading the document correctly, it would make no difference if I did. Egeria set her instructions out very plainly. There is no question of this being a Council decision. If it were, I still would have no objection. I pledge my support and loyalty to Jolinar and her host at this time. I will follow your leadership, Jolinar."

"I thank you and Dyekell, Lustesh. We appreciate the vote of confidence." Sam breathed easier, as each of the council members pledged their loyalty to Jolinar. It was a relief to have it, even if it wasn't some formal thing. Even Thoran, Daresh, Marmek, and Cormak gave their pledge to follow her leadership. She didn't believe them, but at least they stopped trying to stop her taking Egeria's place.

Ma'ashat turned back to address Per'sus, as the last Council Member agreed to give Jolinar their loyalty and agreed to the change in leadership. "Is there anything else we need to know?"

Per'sus nodded, saying firmly, "There are two more items. One, Jolinar will detail, and the other I will bring forward for discussion and a vote. For now, I will turn the meeting over to Jolinar."

"Thank you, Per'sus" Jolinar faced them saying quietly, "I am implementing some immediate changes. Although Egeria appointed me her successor, she went no farther in her instructions, which leaves me to do, as I deem necessary. I have taken a long-term mission on the Tau'ri world. I will be available for meetings, and can be contacted there in any emergency. However, since I will not be in residence on a Tok'Ra base, I do not believe that I should be Supreme High Councilor. Even if I was here, I am quite sure I would leave that position in Per'sus's very capable hands. His position is the same as it was before this occurred. He is still the person in charge."

She paused, for a moment, before continuing, "I have made some other changes, as well. I have opened three new positions on the Council. I have taken the first one, which is the High Councilor. I have appointed Malek as First Vice-Councilor and Garshaw as Second Vice-Councilor. Other than that, I have made no further changes to the High Council itself. What I have done, is form a new council. Just as Egeria used an Advisory Council, so shall I. Those you see seated here with us make up that Council. As you can see, Lantash and Martouf have also been appointed to it. I have also made one or two other smaller changes, but since they have to do with the way some of our personnel are used and assigned, they are not anything that must be discussed right away."

"The truth is that we have a much more important matter to discuss. More important than anything we have yet talked about. I will allow Per'sus to explain it to you; however, before he does so, I want to tell you my opinion of what is being offered to us, and upon which we must make a decision. I believe it is something that should be accepted and implemented, as soon as possible. It has my full and complete approval and support."

Jolinar resumed her seat and Per'sus stood. It took him little time to explain that the Tau'ri had suggested an alliance against a mutual enemy. He also told them that the Advisory Council was unanimous it its agreement in accepting the offer to ally. He then opened the floor to comments and suggestions. Anise and Malek had once again given out copies of the agreement that would make up the framework of the Alliance.

He sat down again, after suggesting that they read the document carefully. The Council Chamber was very quiet, as the other council members read it. As they finished, Per'sus stood once more, suggesting, "I believe that you should discuss it with one another, especially those of us that were there during the negotiation and agreements.

Ma'ashat turned to Jolinar, asking, "What does your mission with the Tau'ri encompass Jolinar?"

"My host is actually Major Samantha Carter. She is a member of the SGC's first contact team, SG-1. I will be going on their missions, learning about them, giving them my knowledge and expertise, about the universe in general, and along with Teal'c, the Goa'uld." She paused with a slight smile on her lips before she continued, "And, yes, that would be Teal'c, Apophis's former First Prime. He allied with the Tau'ri when he turned against Apophis."

"To return to my answer to the original question, the Tau'ri fight much more overtly than we do. They need someone that can guide them away from areas that would cause more problems that it would solve. Lantash and I both will be taking our places on that team and working with them. He and Martouf will also be the liaison between the Tok'Ra and the Tau'ri, just as General Jacob Carter will become the liaison between the Tau'ri and the Tok'Ra."

Ma'ashat nodded her understanding, but before she could follow up with another question, Thoran asked one of his own, "I see where we are aiding them with technology, medical knowledge, as well as, knowledge of the Goa'uld and the Universe, but I do not see that we are getting anywhere near as much in return."

Jolinar raised an eyebrow, before asking, "Do you not, Thoran? Let me see if I can name a few of those things you cannot see that we are receiving, for you. Two hosts. Five lives saved. One traitor caught and, therefore, innumerable lives saved. We have been given a mothership, new I might add, four Al'keshes, also new, and a complement of death gliders. We have a place to leave the ship and its complement of Al'kesh and death gliders, for as long as we wish, or until we can decide where we wish to take them, and we also receive access to the shipwright that built them. Working with me, they started a minimum of two major wars between at least four major Goa'uld, thereby assuring that Sokar will not become the Supreme System Lord. We have access to Amaunet's host, while she is dormant. We will receive Amaunet herself. They killed Ra. We will have a trading of Intelligence, and a promise of help from small groups of soldiers who are trained to carry out difficult and dangerous missions, should we need them. And last, but certainly not least, we will be able to avoid mutual genocide, since we will be able to avoid killing each other inadvertently, as happened, when they destroyed two of Apophis's motherships, which were poised to attack the Tau'ri."

She paused once again, before continuing, telling them, "Should any of you question their abilities in combat or covert operations, then you will please take note of the following. Apophis approached Earth, the Tau'ri homeworld, with two motherships and was prepared to totally raze their world. Having managed to find some important intel about his plans, four, please mark that number, a team of four, consisting of Teal'c, Dr. Daniel Jackson, Colonel Jack O'Neill, yes the one who found the traitor, and my host, Major Samantha Carter gated aboard one of his ships. I am not going to go into details of the mission. Suffice it to say that these four and one inside contact, blew up both ships, and escaped in two death gliders, even as Dr. Jackson gated to their Alpha site and then back to their main base. Had we been aware of one another then, they could have alerted and insured that our people escaped. This is one of the things this alliance will work to prevent in the future. Do not underestimate them in any way."

Turning back to her questioner, she asked, "What more would you like, Thoran? For all of that, they get Intelligence, what medical help we can give them, what help we can give them to develop their technology, and if needed, an expert in whatever field they may need help in, if neither Lantash nor I can help them. In fact, Thoran, I would say that far from us not receiving much in return, for what we are giving, they have already given us a rather large gift of two hosts, as well as, saving three symbiotes and two hosts. It is no small gift."

"Three symbiotes? I do not see that there are three."

"You have forgotten Lantash and Martouf. They would have died, without the Tau'ri's medical intervention. While their medical knowledge and procedures may appear somewhat primitive to us, it did what needed to be done to save them, just as it saved both Samantha and me. The third, of course, is Selmak." She paused for a moment, and then added, "I also forgot to mention that they are known to both the Nox and the Tollan and can contact both, something not offered to many. We are in good company."

She turned away from him, indicating that she had said all she intended to say to him. Looking around, and seeing that everyone was finished reading, Jolinar nodded to Per'sus that she was finished.

He nodded his understanding in return and then, he stood, asking, "Are there any other comments or questions?" After allowing a minute or two to elapse with nothing more forthcoming, he informed them quietly, "Then it is time to vote on whether or not to ally with the Tau'ri." Reaching into a pocket hidden in his robes, he pulled out a small gold box, opened it, and took out many crystal chips. He reached under the podium he stood before and pulled out two bowls. One was marked yes, and one no.

"I will start. My vote is yes," Per'sus stated clearly, as he placed one crystal chip into the bowl that corresponded with his answer.

Jolinar was next, followed by Selmak, Garshaw, Anise, Malek, and so on, until each of the Council Members voted. As Per'sus expected, it was a foregone conclusion. Still he made very sure that everyone could see that he put the box of chips, closed and secured, to one side, before counting out the ones in each bowl. While it was not unanimous, there were only two dissenting votes. Looking around the chamber at the members, he announced, "The question of an alliance with the Tau'ri has passed. The agreement will be signed tonight, when we return to the Tau'ri."

Before anyone could express their surprise that they would be returning and signing it yet tonight, he explained, his voice quite audible, "There is another agreement that Jolinar and I must sign, yet tonight, as well." He paused, and smiled slightly, before adding, "We must finish writing, and then sign, the agreement pertaining to hosts. The Tau'ri have offered to attempt to find us hosts."

There was a collective gasp from the other Council Members, and Kintash spoke up asking, "Why were we not told that before we read and voted on the alliance? That makes no sense. Surely they knew that an offer of hosts would insure the agreement to form an alliance."

"Yes, they knew that. It is why it was not included, and we were not told in advance ourselves. They wished the alliance to be one of friends, based on their strengths and abilities, not because they could give us what we most need. They have already approached some possible hosts, in case any of you are wondering about the word attempt. They cannot be sure, until they can actually offer a symbiote, of course; however, their preliminary probing suggests that there will be several willing to take a symbiote and work with us."

"Is there anything that we should know about these hosts, Per'sus?" A'pashe asked him quietly, before adding, "I cannot see them offering them for no reason, receiving nothing in exchange."

He nodded. "Yes, there are a couple of conditions, which I must stress; we had no hesitation in accepting. As for what they are receiving in exchange, they consider the medical, technological, and incidental assistance recompense."

Seeing a few of them frown, he stopped his explanation and inquired of them, "Obviously something I have said, is unclear. What is it that you wish to know? I would prefer to answer questions as they come up, not wait until we have finished."

Ma'ashat spoke up asking, "What 'exactly' does incidental assistance entail?"

He smiled slightly, telling them, "That would be things such as occasionally helping with translations which Dr. Jackson has trouble with and like things. It is really nothing that will be specifically written out."

Thoran spoke up, stating, "Then we could lose several of our people for indefinite periods. They could need constant help especially in something like translations."

Sighing, Per'sus reminded him, "With Lantash and Jolinar there, I hardly think that is very likely. Besides that, it is only the very oldest dialects that seem to give them problems. Dr. Jackson is more than capable of translating most Goa'uld dialects. In fact, he is an extremely gifted linguist who speaks and reads, Samantha has assured me, at least thirty-two other languages…without the help of a symbiote's memory, I might add. I believe that we can trust them to only call us in, when they truly need to do so, and that it will probably be a fairly rare occurrence."

He turned from Thoran to address the remainder of the council, asking, "Was that the only question?" When no one else asked anything, he continued his explanations of the conditions for which the SGC had asked. "They wish to keep a few of their soldiers there and working for the SGC, after they blend. The hosts will probably be soldiers who have serious injuries that the Tau'ri have no way to heal. The second thing they asked was that we help in choosing the hosts, since we would have a better understanding of what to look for, and could probably identify someone that would not do well. As I said, we had no qualms about accepting those two stipulations."

He paused, obviously considering something, and then began telling them, "The entity we will be working with is called the SGC, which stand for StarGate, which is their name for the Chaappa'ai, Command. The leader of their base of operations is General George Hammond. Do not ever, and I do mean _Never_, attempt to pass through to their base, without the device to alert them that it is you. They have an iris over their gate, which allows nothing through, until they accept a code, and you would die instantly. There are devices, which they will give to each of our bases. It will have a code that must be sent, and a response returned to it that will tell you whether or not you can proceed. Do not proceed, until you receive that confirmation of safety. If you are under fire, you can always go to a safe planet first, and then onto the Tau'ri base. However, the GDO has the ability to alert them, if you are coming in "hot", which is their word to describe that type of situation where you are under fire. It can also alert them as to whether or not medical personnel will be needed. You will soon learn what their odd phrasing means, especially once we begin to bring in new hosts that use it. Furthermore, I had no real intention of going into this type of detail now, as all of this will be explained in separate meetings on each base, when the Treaty of Alliance is announced."

"Their iris sounds like a rather handy device. It would be very helpful during an attack to stop them sending the Jaffa through the Chaappa'ai. Of course, if they send them down in an Al'kesh, it would do no good."

"Both true observations, Lustesh." Per'sus agreed. Turning to the Council Members in general, he asked them, "Does anyone have any other comments?" He waited for someone to say something, and when no one did, he told them, "In that case this meeting is adjourned. We will return to the Tau'ri world, Earth, and return later tonight or tomorrow."

Jolinar stood and announced, before anyone could leave, "Lantash and I will be at the SGC, and you can contact us there. We will be sending someone from the SGC through to each base, so that they can deliver and explain their GDO, which is the device that sends and receives the codes for the iris. I thank you all for your vote of confidence in me. _Ashteka keshta, Ashteki keshta._"

* * *

Their code accepted, the seven Tok'Ra leaving the Tok'Ra Base stepped into the event horizon and stepped out on the SGC ramp. Awaiting them at the bottom of the ramp was General Hammond and then slightly behind him a man that Jolinar and Sam had met only once. Then, standing directly behind them, stood several men in suits. They looked bored, yet alert at the same time.

Jolinar stepped forward, smiling at the General, even as she told him, "Events went as anticipated, General Hammond. There were no unexpected delays or objections. We are ready to sign both treaties; the 'Host Agreement' and the 'Treaty of Alliance', whenever you are ready."

As she finished speaking, Sam swiftly asked her, _"That's the President of the United States, Jolinar. What the hell is he doing here? Didn't we just talk to him on the phone?"_

"_I am not sure, my Sam, and however calm he may appear, his eyes give him away. He is very much excited to be here. In a good way, I believe." _

"_Yes, I think you're right. Well, here we go." _

The General smiled at her, saying, "That's wonderful news," before he motioned toward the man who stepped up beside him. She turned her smile to him, as General Hammond re-introduced them, saying, "Jolinar of Malk'shur, I'm sure that you remember the President of the United States, James Crawford. Mr. President, once again, Jolinar of Malk'shur, and Major Samantha Carter."

She held her hand out in what she had learned was the manner in their country, as she bowed her head in the way of the Tok'Ra, and greeted him, "It is an honor and a pleasure to see you once again, Mr. President."

"It's a pleasure—and a great privilege—to see you and the Major again…and to see this magnificent piece of technology. It's absolutely fantastic. Reports just do not do it justice…" he suddenly broke off, as he realized that he wasn't sure just how to address her now that she was her people's leader.

Her smile grew, and discerning his dilemma, she told him, quietly, "Jolinar is fine, Mr. President. We do not stand on formality. And rarely, if ever, do two Tok'Ra have the same name. At least," she paused, frowning, before amusement took the place of her frown, and she completed her statement saying, "At least, no two in any one clutch is named the same, although I am quite sure that names do repeat eventually. I believe it would be inevitable."

Seeing the amusement in her eyes, the President smiled, as he nodded, saying, "Very well, and I would consider it an honor, if you and your people would call me James. Since you all use only one name, it's only fair. Mr. President can become cumbersome, and it's not very conducive to easy communication."

"As you wish—James."

As she paused, not sure what to suggest, General Hammond stepped in, saying, "Why don't we all retire to the briefing room? We can introduce everyone there with less confusion all around."

The President nodded his immediate agreement, assuring him, "That's an excellent suggestion, George. Please—lead the way."

Jolinar glanced around, before slowing her steps, and asking, "Should we not have SG-1 with us, as well, General? They, too, especially Dr. Jackson, have put a great deal of effort and work into this. They have played a very large role in what has occurred between our peoples."

As they passed into the briefing room, leaving the bodyguards disgruntled, but outside the door anyway, President Crawford, turned to the General, assuring him, "I have no objections, George. By all means, send for them, if you want to and think they would like to be here for the signing of these very historic agreements." He grinned, adding, "Besides, I'd really like to meet Dr. Jackson and Teal'c…and, of course, the leader of my premier team, Colonel O'Neill."

General Hammond nodded, assuring him, "It won't take more than a moment for me to contact them. Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, while I call them."

While the General was calling the other members of SG-1, President Crawford turned to Selmak and Jacob, saying, after a slight hesitation, "Ah, Jacob? Who…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Jacob's head dropped and his eyes glowed golden, fading just as he lifted his head. The president was only somewhat taken aback this time, and immediately recovered his aplomb, asking, "How are you doing, Jacob? Is everything truly gone and—everything? I mean, are you doing okay physically?"

Jacob nodded, asserting, "Yup. Every bit of the cancer's gone, my arthritis is gone, in fact, I haven't felt this good in thirty years. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen or felt."

"So, ah, no offence to your—"

"Symbiote, or Lifemate, will do."

The President indicated his understanding, asking, "So, I know you haven't been with Selmak long, but how do you think it's going? Will our soldiers be all right with giving up their body to another, er, being?"

"I can't tell you how others will react, but I think that most people would be all right with this. For one thing, it's _not_ giving up your body. It's kind of hard to explain, actually." Jacob frowned, as he gave what he wanted to convey some thought. Finally coming to a conclusion, he told him, "As I said, it's _not _giving up your body to someone else. It really is what they call it, which is blending. They don't _take_ your body, they use it, _with your permission_. And, at first, it does seem like you are sharing your body and mind with another being. But the longer you're blended, the more you begin to feel, as if they've always been a part of you. Your personalities, beliefs, likes, dislikes, they all remain yours. And contrary to what you might think, even though you get all of their knowledge when you blend, you don't automatically get every thought, every belief, well, everything, just thrown at you. Yes, you receive and can access their knowledge immediately; you immediately know their emotions and feelings about things. But not every thought starts coming to you, not unless you're, well, listening to their thoughts. The emotions are there right away, though. Feelings are harder to keep from one another than thoughts are."

"You can search for their thoughts, and they'll just sort of pop into your mind. Actually, it is the same with their knowledge. Two thousand years of knowledge all at once would probably overload a human's brain, so you get a lot right away and the remainder is there for you to access without being overwhelmed by it."

"Back to the sharing and blending thing though…I'm not sure how to explain it. It's kind of like, well, you know, if you're reading and really engrossed in whatever it is, then you can have people walk by, the TV can be on, the radio, any number of things, but unless someone actually interrupts you, you don't hear any of it. Does that make sense? It's like you can both be immersed in your own thoughts, or you can be sharing thoughts, either one. Anyway, my point is that you begin to feel as if you are one being, and yet, you are also a separate entity all at the same time."

"When I talked to Sam and Martouf about it, they both told me that, if they were to lose their symbiotes, they would be devastated. I couldn't understand how they could feel that way. I mean, how could they possibly miss having someone else in their heads? But, now, I know exactly what they mean. Losing Selmak, no longer than we've been together, would be a very heavy emotional blow. I think it would probably be on a par with losing your wife or a child. It would be on that level of emotional pain—if not worse, because to lose them, would be to lose a part of yourself; it would be like losing part of your heart, or soul."

"I guess I would say that any of our soldiers that blend will probably find it to be like that, although, I suppose if their personalities were really incompatible it might not work out so well. Selmak tells me that the instances of a host and symbiote not getting along are very rare, for some reason. He thinks it has to do with the blending. As long as you relax, and allow it to happen, then the more deeply you will blend and bond. The more blended and bonded you are, then the chances of an incompatibility go down. They'll need to be truly willing to give it a go and allow a deep blending. Then, there shouldn't be any problems at all."

The President listened carefully to what Jacob Carter told him. He'd known Jacob, although not well, for several years, and he respected him both as a man and as a soldier. The man wouldn't lie to him.

General Hammond finally managed to contact all of the missing members of SG-1. When the President and Jacob finished their conversation, the General saw to it that introductions were made in very short order. He was very careful to be sure to introduce both host and symbiote. They talked quietly, and the Tok'Ra saw to it that they switched on and off with their hosts, just as Jolinar and Per'sus did. The President was very curious about the host-symbiote relationship, and he gathered opinions from all of the hosts that he could. He was relieved when he found that except for the way in which they explained and presented it, the information was very uniform. All of the hosts said the same thing. If their symbiote was lost to them, for whatever reason, be it death or some other unimaginable occurrence, they would all miss their symbiotes more than they could say. Just the thought of having that happen was enough to cause sorrow for some of them.

They were happy to change the topic to something less emotionally harrowing. President Crawford found the idea of growing and collapsing tunnels fascinating. It was agreed, that once, before the President left the oval office, he would write himself an executive order allowing him to go through the gate and visit any one of the Tok'Ra bases. He was looking forward to it. As the last member of SG-1 entered the room, he sighed. It was time to get down to business, much as he would prefer to sit and talk to the Tok'Ra.

Since it was Tok'Ra business, they retained control during the meeting; however, as soon as it ended, the hosts came fore again, although, they saw to it that they switched on and off between host and symbiote, again following the lead of Jolinar and Per'sus. Seeing how the host-symbiote relationship worked allowed the President some breathing room. He was now sure that he was doing the correct thing, no matter what that ass Kinsey said.

He wished there was some way they could send _him_ through to a planet with a broken dialing device, or one with Jaffa and Goa'uld on it. The man was a huge pain, as he constantly attempted to disrupt and discredit other Congressmen, himself, and his Vice President. It irritated and aggravated him, a great deal, but there were laws against killing people that weren't trying to kill you. Kinsey wanted this program under his control, and he'd be damned if he allowed it to happen. He just hoped that whoever won the next election could see through him and knew him as well as he did. The man was a menace. And he didn't care who won, he'd be sure that during their private briefing, he told them all about Kinsey and this program. He wanted them to know the truth going in and not allow the wrong person to get a hold of this.

Well, the treaty and the agreements were signed and much to his delight, a holographic image was made during the signing, so there was a record of it for posterity. However, as much as he was enjoying his visit, he still had to return to the White House. He listened to the conversations going on around him and smiled. It might be a long time before anyone knew about it, but when they did, he would be the first president to not only meet with aliens, but also sign a treaty of mutual benefit.

During a lull in the conversations, he looked at his watch and winced. It was long after the time when he should have left. He would call his wife and tell her that he would be back soon. He could explain later, however, as late as it was when he left he'd made sure she understood he would be late returning and not to worry. After all, she had signed non-disclosure forms, too. Sighing, he stood, saying, "As much as I wish that I could remain and continue to talk to all of you, I'm afraid that's not possible. I've already thrown out my entire evening's schedule, and my wife is going to think I've disappeared, if I don't call her soon." He looked at each of them, before assuring them, "I am truly glad that I was able to come and meet all of you. I look forward to the day I can visit your tunnels."

As General Hammond stood, the President made sure that he managed to shake everyone's hand, and tell them all goodbye. When he came to Sam and Jolinar, he assured her, "Before you returned, I talked to George about making you and Lantash some comfortable quarters, and we also agreed that Teal'c should be moved into a larger suite of rooms. If there is anything that you need, don't be afraid to ask for it. Goodbye, Major Carter, Jolinar, it was a true pleasure to meet with you again."

Jolinar bowed her head to him, shook his hand, and told him, "Thank you, James, from both Samantha and I. We will not wish you goodbye, but only _Ashteki keshta. Until we meet again." _

Bowing back to her, he returned her farewell, murmuring, "Yes. _Ashteki keshta. We will meet again." _He strode to the door, General Hammond walking with him. Before he opened the door, he looked back at them, announcing, "An Alliance of Friends has been born. May it only grow stronger from this day forward." Then he opened the door, and was gone.

Those left in the room looked at each other. They had done it. The Alliance between the Tok'Ra and the Tau'ri was a reality.

Finally, Jack broke the solemnity of the moment, asking, "So…how about we celebrate? Anybody up for a party?"

TBC


	33. Can't Help Falling in Love Ch 34 AAOF

_**Chapter Thirty-four – **Jolinar and Sam do some thinking about the President's visit, and some of the things they discussed. They finish moving their things into another room, until their 'apartment' is finished. After carrying all of their things and putting them away, they shower and await Martouf and Lantash. Things continue heating up and finally boil over. _

_**Rating this Chapter – **PG-14 There is some romance, but nothing else._

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication _

_**Pro`n Ma'tae Kea – **Our Cherished One._

_**Ni ma'tae qua ac Ya dwiadek qua Et'aevek. – **We love you and we promise you forever._

_**Mer Cor – **My Heart_

_**Mer Cariad kea - **My Dear One_

_**Pro`n Ma'tae – **Our Love_

**_Author's Note: _**_There is one more chapter after this one. I want to thank those that left reviews. They were very much appreciated. I'm considering writing a sequel to tie up the loose ends I left lying all over the place. Does anyone have an opinion? Yes? No? Maybe? _

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Thirty-four**_

_**Can't Help Falling in Love**_

* * *

Sam sighed as she carried her last armload of clothes down the hall to another room. They were supposed to start work on their apartment in the morning, so she was moving their things down the hall. She was very thankful for Jolinar and her ability to boost her energy. With everything that had been accomplished in the past three days, she felt like she was in fast forward.

But, they had accomplished a lot. Martouf, Lantash, and Daniel drew up the 'Host Agreement' and a final draft of the 'Treaty of Alliance' document, which was accepted, and signed by all, even the President, who made a very shocking, surprising visit to the SGC, much to the dismay of those responsible for keeping him safe and keeping him on schedule. Needless to say, he threw his entire entourage into disarray, since he had to be more or less sneaked out of the White House, sneaked onto Air Force One, and sneaked into the SGC, before doing it all in reverse. General Hammond, the President, Per'sus, Lantash, and Jolinar had talked by phone several times, but his arrival was totally unexpected, and therefore, had thrown the entire SGC into disarray, as much as, a military base was capable of being thrown into disarray, anyway. The fact that it held together well in the face of this unforeseen visitor could be placed squarely on General Hammond's expertise and calm under pressure.

As she started hanging her clothes up in the closet, a smile touched her lips. Jolinar was going over the time they spent with the President that day before, and she was at the point where they discussed an exchange program. She and General Hammond had discussed an exchange program, and planned on talking to Per'sus and some of the Advisory Council about it. They felt that they would probably need to make a trip to D.C., so that the President and at least the Advisory Council could meet. Well, he'd certainly saved them at least one trip, which was great as far as Jolinar was concerned, although she insisted that they would take the Al'kesh to the White House next time, cloaked of course, and simply ring down into the oval office at a specified time. Jolinar, did not like or trust Tau'ri 'airplanes'. At all.

Sam listened in as Jolinar let it run through her mind, as if it was a movie.

President Crawford leaned forward, and it was obvious that he had something on his mind. That it was something to do with this meeting was obvious as well. Clearing his voice, during this lull in conversation, he got everyone's attention, saying, "We all recognize what a threat the Goa'uld are to Earth. It's why we are all so ecstatic over the mothership and shipwright. We need worldwide defenses. As everyone sitting here knows, if the Goa'uld decide to attack in force, we have no chance against them…as things stand now. I think we all know that we were lucky with Apophis. That could have turned out very badly; however, thankfully, we have some excellent soldiers here. And some excellent non-soldiers, too. One of which won't give up, if he believes that he is correct, and we all can thank God for that," he added, as he nodded to Daniel, who blushed at such public praise.

He cleared his voice again, before stating, "While all of that is very significant, we are doing all we can at the moment. There's no point in beating a dead horse and going over that all again. However, there are other things that we need to discuss. General Hammond, my Chiefs of Staff and I have, as you know, discussed the possibility of an exchange program with the Tok'Ra. We've had several discussions about this subject." Changing his focus, he looked from the General to Per'sus, and asked him, "Since we have agreed to an alliance, a close alliance, how would you feel about implementing an exchange program between us?"

Per'sus looked at him, and it was obvious that he had no idea what the President meant by an 'exchange program'.

Per'sus looked to Selmak and Jolinar, as they realized what the problem was. Selmak turned to President Crawford, telling him, "James, we have no experience with 'an exchange program', so do not know what it is. Jacob is showing me, so I am beginning to understand it, as I am sure that Jolinar does, as well, no doubt, having discussed it with General Hammond. However, it would be better if someone other than she or I explained what you mean."

The President looked to General Hammond, who nodded his understanding. He then looked over at Per'sus, averring, "I apologize, Councilor Per'sus, and, of course, all of you. I should have realized, that since you don't work with a regular military, you would have no idea what that is. So…simply put, it is a program, where two similar individuals or groups, within an organization, each exchange personnel who are similar in their duties. For instance, we are retaining Jolinar and Lantash. True we also have our own personnel at the same time, but I'm just using them as an example."

He stopped, frowning in thought, before beginning again, "No, let me start over. Forget what I just told you. Let's say that Malek and Anise were going to be staying here with us for a year. During that year, we would send to you, two of our people who had similar, if not as advanced as yours, which can't be helped, abilities, talents, and interests, or someone with abilities that you requested. For that year, our people would live and learn from you, helping to do whatever they could, be it posing as a lo'tar or working in a lab. It's a way for two groups of people to come to know one another. You would learn about our ways from our representative, and we would learn about you from yours and, of course, the opposite applies as well, for each would also be learning from the other, as well. There would, of course, be a disparagement between those we would send to you, as opposed to the ones you would send to us. We realize that and would be willing to send four for two, even though it wouldn't make any of them any smarter." He smiled slightly, as he made his very light joke, and Per'sus gave him a smile in return.

"I believe I understand what you are saying. You wish to send people as replacements, so that we will not be without however many of our people there are here. For now, you will have Lantash, Martouf, Jolinar, and Samantha, so you wish to send us people to help us, while they are with you. It is an intriguing idea, and I would very much like to discuss it more in depth. We will certainly consider doing it. I am sure that Jolinar will go over it with the Advisory Council soon, and I will get back to you on it. Would that be acceptable?"

The President took over again, and nodded his agreement, but he had more to say, "As you think about it, also consider that we have non-military, that is, civilian personnel here, who I feel we would include, should you decide you would like to try the idea. We have scientists, archaeologists, linguists, mathematicians, physicists, Doctors, Nurses, Lab technicians…well the list continues on and on...and the thing is that in some cases, it could be that it would be a civilian that would fit the exchange better. So it would not all be soldiers, and even if it is a soldier, they can also be other things. Major Carter is a pilot, an astrophysicist, a mathematician, a computer whiz…and although her many accomplishments are unusual, we do have other soldiers that have degrees in fields that you might find helpful. Many of our scientists and specialists also hold degrees in more than one field. Dr. Jackson, for instance, is an archaeologist, an anthropologist and a linguist who can speak and read over twenty-nine…"

"Thirty-two, Sir," Jack called out from his seat.

…languages. As you can see, he adds languages faster than I can keep up."

"It's because he's a genius. Him and Carter, both," Jack, again, added his two cents worth. He just wanted them to know that they were getting a prize in Carter and that Daniel was probably even more intelligent than she was, although, each would declare that the other was the smarter one. Since he knew for a fact that both of their I.Q.'s were somewhere in the stratosphere, he seriously doubted that it really mattered.

Jolinar smiled at him, before she turned to Per'sus, assuring him, "Colonel O'Neill speaks the truth, Per'sus, as far as my Sam is concerned. She has a brilliant mind. And, although I have no way to know for certain, she assures me that Daniel is much more intelligent than she is. To be quite frank and honest, that thought is mind-numbing, for if he is more intelligent than Samantha, he is truly an incredibly brilliant human."

Daniel snorted, and his tone showed his exasperation, as he insisted, "I am not any more intelligent than Sam is. Our I.Q.s, right now, share the same number. Live with it, Sam." He scowled at her. He hated it when people talked about him, or his intelligence, as if he wasn't there.

Attempting to regain control of the meeting, the General sent Jack a shut-up frown, and turned back only to hear the President chuckle at the obvious camaraderie that existed among this, in his opinion, best team they had. He could certainly see why George wanted more like them, and he would do his best to find him some more, although he had his doubts he could find any.

Looking at Per'sus, the General told him, "If you decide you want to try it, just let me know, and if you want to talk about it more before your Advisory Council meets, I'd be happy to do so. We have two of your people now. That, too, is an option. Start quite small, perhaps enough people to take up some of the slack that Lantash and Jolinar leave behind them while they are here." The General left the discussion there. If Per'sus was interested, he would contact him to discuss it in a little more depth, or Jolinar would explain it at their meeting. He really didn't doubt that it would eventually come about, since Jolinar was very much behind it. He had a feeling, just from what little time they had known her, that she was a power to be reckoned with, and now that she had more or less ascended to Egeria's throne, she was going to be even more so. Between her and Major Carter, the universe should probably look out. And so should Earth for that matter. His thoughts were rueful, and he couldn't stop a small smile from touching his lips for a moment. Time would tell, of course.

Sam's mind wandered into the next topic of conversation that came up, and that they discussed. They decided to set an Advisory Council meeting for the day before Dr. Kennedy was due to arrive.

They had gone on to discuss hosts, and had settled a couple of questions about it. In a few days, Dr. Kennedy, the doctor appointed by the President to oversee this project, would arrive at the SGC and begin to learn about the Tok'Ra. Once Dr. Kennedy arrived, they would convene yet another Advisory Council meeting, so that he could meet and talk to them. They decided to bring Daimesh and Arwanna, two of the Tok'Ra's best healers, into the meeting, as well.

They'd discussed the possibility of him spending time on one of the Tok'Ra bases, if he wanted a more in depth look at what they, and their lives, were like. He would need to know quite a bit about the Tok'Ra in order to talk with any authority on the subject to the possible hosts. A host candidate couldn't decide if they wanted to actually become a host, if they knew nothing about it. They needed that information, they needed to meet some Tok'Ra, and they needed time to think really deeply about what they would be doing, before they made their decision. After all, they could be Tok'Ra for a very long time. There was every likelihood that they would be together for centuries.

Of course, they also discussed having the Tok'Ra healers, as well as, Selmak, Lantash, and Jolinar there, when they brought the candidate into the SGC for 'orientation'. It all boiled down to the fact that it would probably be kind of hit and miss the first few times they offered it to someone. They would have a better idea of what, when, and where information was needed, and how to present it, after they went through it a few times to get the bugs out. Unfortunately, the first few candidates would have to suffer through their bumbling attempts to do it right.

There were several Tok'Ra whose hosts were beginning to fail, as Saroosh had, and the symbiotes would soon need new hosts, or they would die with their present host. There was also the fact that there could be injured Tok'Ra return and need a host right away. So they would need to decide on several candidates that would be offered a symbiote. They decided that they couldn't wait, until a host was needed, to give an orientation to the soldiers that were chosen. They would need to be mentally ready to blend, and already at the SGC, in case it was an emergency.

She hung up the last of her clothes. Martouf and Lantash didn't have a great many belongings. They had brought what they, and Jolinar, had from the base, and they had already moved it and put it away. They'd gone out with SG-6 this morning, but it was a one-day mission, so they should be back soon. She decided to take a shower and get comfortable. Jolinar seconded that idea, and they were soon feeling much cleaner. They were looking through their, as Jolinar had dubbed it, 'sexy stuff drawer'. They had moved their things back to the drawer they were originally in, deciding that the bathroom cabinet was not a very good place for them. They'd worn a different gown so far every night they slept with their mates, and still had several more before they had to repeat one. She sighed as she pulled out a set with a camisole and tap pants. It was silky and soft, but not really what she was in the mood to wear. Maybe she should just wear one of her old cotton sets.

"_Samantha, when should the things we ordered arrive? We paid extra postage for them to get here more quickly, yes?" _

Sam paused in her perusal of the contents of the drawer. She couldn't believe that she'd forgotten about those. _"Yes, Jolinar, we did. They could have arrived today. We haven't checked our mail. Maybe we should go see if they came." _

Jolinar's response was enthusiastic, _"Yes, let us do that. Put on some clothing and let us go at once. Between your gowns from your off-world source, and these things we bought, we should be able to keep Martouf and Lantash entertained for many nights to come. We must buy a chest to keep them in, for I plan to have many sexy and beautiful things to wear for them…and us. Yes, my Sam, I realize that we enjoy wearing them as much, if not more, than Martouf and Lantash enjoy seeing them. I know that they are not solely for their enjoyment. Luckily, we both have this secret desire for beautiful and sexy nightwear. A very decadent secret…the very best kind to have." _

Sam laughed at her, but she pulled out a long-sleeved t-shirt and a pair of jeans, dressing quickly and heading for the mail area. She could feel and see Jolinar smiling, as she picked up a rather large package. Jolinar had discovered online shopping and several sites that carried beautiful night and loungewear. The first of what she'd ordered had arrived, and she was like a kid at Christmas. But then, Sam had to grin because—so was she. She almost couldn't wait to open it and see them. Her off-world seamstress probably had one or two ready for her, too. They would have to make a quick trip there, soon.

"_Hurry, Samantha, I wish for us to be ready and waiting for Martouf and Lantash," _Jolinar urged her.

"_I am. I am. We're back at our room already." _She got a knife from the kitchenette and cut the tape on the box. Laying it aside, she opened the box and began to gently lift each of the garments from it. There were some truly lovely things in the box. She emptied it carefully but quickly and placed them in a drawer, for they were all to be surprises for their mates.

"_I like the deep midnight blue, Samantha. It is lovely, and I am quite sure they will appreciate it, as much as they have the others that we have worn. Come, hurry. I believe I heard the klaxons a short time ago. As soon as they have their post mission checkup and a shower, they will be here. We should be dressed before they arrive, do you not agree?" _

Sam nodded, as she told her, _"Yes, we definitely should be."_ and pulled out the gown and matching peignoir Jolinar chose. She was right it was absolutely gorgeous. She laid the peignoir across the foot of the bed, and then swiftly stripped off her t-shirt and jeans, before slipping into the floor length gown. She glanced at the clock. It was almost seven o'clock, and Sam suspected that Martouf and Lantash would arrive shortly. She pulled on an old robe that reached the floor and buttoned all the way up, so that the gown was covered, to keep her from getting anything on it. Feeling hungry, she made up two plates of food that they could heat quickly in the microwave. As she finished filling the second plate, she realized that she had nibbled enough that she was almost full. She shrugged. Oh, well. She put the plates into the small refrigerator and turned back to the 'sitting area'.

Before she sat down, Jolinar suggested, _"Why do you not turn on the—radio—to some of the music, which Teal'c had on the other day? I enjoyed it, although I do not know if it is a specific type of music. Does it have a genre name, my Sam?" _

Sam stop moving and her mouth hung open slightly. _"You, um, you liked that, Jolinar? Really?" _

Jolinar frowned at her, and then answered briefly, _"Yes. I did." _

Sam cleared her throat slightly and began to walk toward the radio, again. Finally finding her voice, she still sounded hesitant, as she questioned her,_ "Are you sure that it was the music that Teal'c turned on, and not the one the Colonel attempted to turn it to a couple of times?" _

"_I am positive it was not the music that O'Neill chose. It was the much more quiet music that Teal'c turned on." _

"_Okay, well, the um genre is called country, but he had on a station that plays what we call 'oldies'. Much of that music was popular during the nineteen-fifties up through the nineteen-eighties. I'm, um, surprised that you liked it." _She paused for a moment, before telling her, _"I, ah, I happen to like it, too, but Teal'c is the only one that knows it. Well, and you do now, too. Teal'c always turns it on, because the Colonel won't continue to change it, when Teal'c changes it like he would, if Daniel or I tried to change it. At least, he won't do it more than three or four times. He usually stops, when Teal'c starts his eyebrow of warning thing." _

Jolinar chuckled, saying, _"I see." _She pondered that information for a very short time, before asking, _"What was the music to which O'Neill attempted to change it?" _

Sam laughed softly, _"Colonel O'Neill is partial to what we call rock. The music he was trying to turn it to the other day is called 'acid rock'. He likes 'soft rock', too, and he's very partial to the rock music that was popular in the fifties and sixties. Those were sort of his growing up years. The sixties especially, so." _

"_I see. I have only heard those from the other day. Are there others?" _

"_Oh, yeah, there's a lot of them. There's all different kinds of ethnic music, different kinds of rock, there are different kinds of country music, too. There's, also, the big band sound, Blues, Jazz, Ballads, Swing, Fifties, and Gospel. Then there's music that was created hundreds of years ago that is still popular today. It's called classical. I'll try to find some classical or fifties and sixties stuff. I think you'd like it. There are some beautiful romantic ballads, and love songs, that are sung by each new generation of singers because they are so good, and people really love them." _She found a station playing 'oldies' that were mostly romantic type songs, and left it tuned there. She moved to the closet and hung up her old robe, before returning to the end of the bed to pick up and don the matching peignoir.

As she walked back to the sitting area, Jolinar told her, _"That is a very pretty song. It is what you called 'soft rock, yes?" _

"_Yes. It is pretty, isn't it?" _They both relaxed on the sofa, as they listened. As one song moved to another, Sam told her, _"This is one of my all-time favorite love songs._"

"_It is lovely, Samantha, what is its title?" _

"_Always on My Mind. This version is by Elvis Presley. He had a great voice. I think of Lantash and Martouf now, when I hear this song. In fact, Elvis sings several songs that make me think of them. They express my feelings so much better than I ever could." _Although unaware of what she was doing, Sam answered both mentally and aloud, murmuring the words to her Lifemate, as the feelings the song engendered continued to flow through soft murmur of her voice, as well as her concentration on the words of the song, covered the almost soundless opening and closing of their door.

"_He is no longer?" _

Martouf and Lantash quietly leaned back against it, unashamedly listening to Samantha's part of her discussion with Jolinar. Afraid that any noise at all would distract and interrupt their conversation, they relaxed, standing silently by.

"_No, he died quite a few years ago, now. He was very greatly mourned. He was an extremely physically attractive man, and then on top of that, he had this absolutely wonderful lovely and sexually stimulating voice. When he was onstage, women would scream and cry." _She smiled wryly, adding, _"Actually, he didn't even have to be onstage to affect them." _She stopped speaking for a moment, and then continued, "_From what I understand, he was also a pretty nice person. He made quite a few movies. He served in the military, too. We're lucky in that he recorded many, many songs, and some of them were truly beautiful, heartfelt love songs." _

"_You have a great appreciation of him," _Jolinar answered quietly, even as she listened to the song.

Sam was quiet for moment, before she answered, sounding surprised, _"Yes, I suppose I do admire him; I believe we lost a great talent, when he left us. He died fairly young. He was only forty-two, I think. Not just our citizens mourned his passing, either, but fans all over the world were shocked and sorrowed over his loss. There are archived films of the people's reaction. It was amazing, really, when you think about it. You could probably say that the whole world mourned and lamented over him, when he died, and you would be very close to being correct." _

Sam floated along with the songs, humming almost inaudibly, awake, yet barely so, when Jolinar brought her attention back to her, asking,_ "And, this one, Samantha? What is it called, for it is another excellent song for lovers?" _

Sam smiled very slightly, and whispered, _"Can't Help Falling in Love. This one definitely makes me think of Lantash and Martouf. I can't help falling in love with them, either. It says how I feel, so well. Since they seem to be playing a lot of Elvis, I hope they play Love me Tender. It's another love song that almost everyone really enjoys." _

Listening to the words of the song, Lantash told Martouf, _"We should join our mate." _

"_Yes, I agree." _As Sam felt the cushion beside her give, she opened her eyes to see Martouf looking at her intensely. "Do you truly feel this way about us, Samantha?" He asked her, his voice throbbing with suppressed emotion.

She hesitated, but only for a moment, before answering him, "Yes. Yes, I do, Martouf. I'm sorry if it makes you feel uncomfortable."

"It does not, _Mer Cor_. Believe me; it fills our hearts with much joy and elation. The words and the message are indeed beautiful, and we also find that it moves us to think of you and Jolinar, as well, for we are completely as helpless against our love for you. We cannot, and do not desire to, stop it or change it in any way. We welcome it with never-ending delight, desire, and devotion, as well as a fervent and undying passion." As he whispered the last word, he leaned in slowly, taking her lips in a soft questing kiss, which she answered with her own.

Martouf stood pulling Sam up to stand with him. They stood unmoving, with no more than a few inches between them, fingers entwined, each looking, seeking within the other's eyes for truth and depth, both finding it gleaming there for the other. Neither took that extra step, and Sam realized that they had begun to sway with the music, not truly moving, just standing closely together swaying.

Sam could tell that he was listening to the words of the song that was playing, as well as allowing the melody of it to pull them together, so she wasn't surprised, when he asked, "What is the name of this song, Samantha? It, too, appears to be one that pulls at the heart."

"It's called Unchained Melody. It _is_ a beautiful love song, used by lovers for years now to express their love and need for their lovers. Numerous singers have recorded it, as far back as I know. It's another all-time favorite romantic song. This is being sung by a duo called the Righteous Brothers. It's my favorite version of it," she answered him softly; as if afraid that, if she spoke too loudly, it would break the spell they appeared to be under, yet aware that he would enjoy her explanation. It broke none of the aura around them, indeed, if anything it appeared to deepen it, the sound, and softness of her voice seeming to strengthen it, as if she was weaving an enchantment around them.

He took the step that would close the few inches between them, even as he brought her hands to his chest and rested them there. As she placed her palms flat against his chest, his hands caressed her arms, and then, reaching her shoulders, he rested them there for a very brief moment, before they swept down her back to clasp her even closer. The song changed again, but it didn't matter, as it was another slow love song, and he began to move her slowly to the beat of the music, even as he anchored her hips to his. His arousal was obvious, before he pulled her into his body, but now it was definitely impossible to miss.

Sam slowly unfastened the buttons on his shirt, and as each one came open, she leaned in and kissed the exposed skin of his chest. Then, as the last button opened, and she pushed his shirt off his chest and down over his shoulders, she began to kiss her way across them, up his throat, nipping at his ear, and then along his jaw. From there she breathed lightly across their skin, to the corner of their lips, before ghosting across them, until her lips fit perfectly with theirs. This kiss was not nearly as soft, as the first one had been, but that didn't matter; it was the right one for now, just as the first one had been the right one, then. It wasn't long, before their lips parted, and their tongues began to explore. Sam traced his lips with the tip of her tongue, even as he sought to deepen their kiss and increase their body's intimacies.

Dropping his arms, Martouf allowed his shirt to slide down his arms, before dropping to the floor, where it lay in a rumpled pile at his feet. Sam moaned, as she swept her hands across his ribs, around to his back, and then up to his shoulder blades, caressing his skin, as they moved from place to place.

His moan answered hers, as her fingers brought each nerve ending they touched to screaming attention. "Dear Goddess, Samantha, what you do to us. It is enough to take us to our knees; our emotions are so overwhelming. We do love you and Jolinar, more than we can ever possibly express to you. It is as if our entire life is alight with such joy, to have both of you here with us."

"You are not alone in your emotions and feelings. Every time Jolinar and I touch you or think of you, our love for you and Lantash is almost more than we can hold. It's boundless, unstoppable; it is more…more than I ever believed I could feel for anyone." She paused for moment, her head lowered, as she gathered her thoughts. She looked up and into his eyes, as she whispered, "When we look into your eyes, it's as if we can see eternity. The universe looks back at us telling us that it is a measure of our love for you. So timeless, so eternal…it will never ever end. It rushes through us, and then into you and from there it bursts out into that universe and simply goes on forever."

She shivered slightly, as she brought one of her hands up to caress his face, and he turned his head, to place a kiss into her palm and breathe softly, "We love you."

"Just the sound of your voice or Lantash's, can send a shiver down my back and a thrill through my heart. I've never felt this way, Martouf. I know I've told you that before, but I'm not exaggerating; I have honestly never felt so deeply. To be honest, it's scaring me to death. I want to run into your arms and listen to you forever, and at the same time, I want to run as far away from you as I can. I have no idea how to cope with these feelings. If it wasn't for Jolinar, I'm not sure what I would do. I probably really would run." Her head fell forward onto his chest and she breathed in his scent. It caused her to smile, and she couldn't keep her lips from finding their way to his chest. "On the other hand," she murmured, "maybe not. I think that I'm addicted to you and Lantash, to your taste, the way you feel, the very scent of the two of you. Goddess, I love your scent. Both yours and Lantash's. As soon as I smell it, I get," she stopped talking and kissed him again, before continuing, "I become, um, excited. Very, very excited."

"_I do not believe that excited was the word that she almost said, Martouf. I have a feeling it was a much more, ah, descriptive word. One that if we were lying down, we could check and find out for ourselves," _Lantash whispered, suggestively.

Seeing the pictures in Lantash's mind, Martouf gasped and then groaned. _"Dear Universe, Lantash, do not send those kinds of pictures to me. It is all I can do not to take her, as it is." _

The image left, but Lantash chuckled in their mind…until Samantha's tongue found one of their nipples and laved it repeatedly, before finally sucking it into her mouth and then nipping it slightly. Then his gasp joined Martouf's. Feeling Martouf about to lose control, Lantash was not surprised to hear him pant, _"Take control, Lantash before I throw her to the floor, and take her here and now." _

"_I understand why you think that would be a bad thing; therefore, I will do as you request." _His hands began a slow exploration of her body. _"She is exquisite, Martouf. There is no doubt of that." _

"_None at all, Lantash. I agree with your comment completely." _

Lantash brought his hand up and cupped her face, pulling her away from the torture she was inflicting on them. "Samantha, _Mer Cariad kea_ you must stop. Neither Martouf, nor I, can withstand your hands and mouth on us, for any length of time, without a respite. You know not what you do to us, Jolinar and you. It is all we can do to stop ourselves from simply taking you. And that is something we do not wish to do. Not yet, for we wish to once more explore your enticing and divinely delightful body. It feels as if it has been months instead of hours, since we last 'made-love' to you, _Pro`n Ma'tae Kea. Ni ma'tae qua ac Ya dwiadek qua Et'aevek." _

"We love you, too. Lantash," Sam breathed his name, and her tone made it sound almost like a vow. Looking up at him, she watched as his lips parted, and then closed her eyes, anticipating his kiss, only to realize that his were hovering barely above her own, dipping to brush lightly against her own, only to once more pull away.

"Samantha, my love, my heart, kiss us and make us whole. Breathe against our lips and let your breath, give us life, for only with you and Jolinar are we fully living, fully alive. Come to us, my cherished one." He moaned deeply, as her lips finally found his own and barely touched them, just as he had done to them only moments before. And then finally, he felt their lips press to theirs, coaxing another moan from them. He moved his hands up to her shoulders and finding the ties that were holding the peignoir closed, he expeditiously loosened them, before skimming his hands across her shoulders and swiftly slipping the fetching piece of silk and lace aside. He watched, enthralled, as it slid slowly, and with seeming regret, down her arms uncovering and exposing her creamy skin, leaving it gleaming softly in the muted, shadowy lamplight. He swept a hand down the length of her arm to savor the silken delight of her skin and finish the trip the garment started, until it lay in a rumpled heap beside his shirt.

TBC


	34. We Will Love You Forever Ch 35 AAOF

_**Chapter Thirty-five Summary: **They make love, and then while Lantash and Martouf rest, Jolinar and Sam talk about the two of them. When they become aware of them, Sam and Jolinar rejoin them on the bed, where they talk some more and then discuss their future. _

_**Rating this Chapter – M**_

"_**Italics" – **Symbiote-Host Communication _

_**Mer Cor – **My Heart _

_**Pro`n Ma'tae – **Our Love_

_**Mer FyCariadon kea – **My Dearest One_

_**Author's Note I – Please read before reading this chapter. About the Rating: This contains M material. ** I would consider it **mild M, **but because I know that some prefer not to read the romantica, I have marked both the beginning of the section and the end of the section, so it can safely be skipped without having to hunt for the ending. _

_**Author's Note II – **This is the end of An Alliance of Friends. I hope you have enjoyed it, and I hope you will take some time to leave me a note, if you did. I'm ruminating about doing a sequel and am leaning that way, since there are so many loose ends in this story. I'd still love to hear from you, if you want one to be written, and I would like to know if there is something in particular you would like to see in it. It won't be immediately, but will perhaps become my next project. _

_Pagan Twylight_

* * *

_**An Alliance of Friends**_

_**Chapter Thirty-five**_

_**We Will Love You Forever**_

* * *

Sam's hands skimmed their sides, until they met the top of his pants, and then stopped, only to travel across his abdomen seeking the fastening that kept them closed and, by doing so, kept her hands from that which they sought. She could feel the trembling of his muscles as her fingers whispered across them. Finally finding the fastening that she was hunting, she quickly flipped it open, before finding the tab that would allow her eager fingers a more intimate caress. As she moved it slowly downward, she smiled, while keeping her head down, and watching to be sure, since his briefs appeared to be MIA, that nothing…tender…was caught in the teeth that the little tab was parting for her.

Hearing the hiss of an indrawn breath, as her fingers brushed lightly against the heat and steel of him, she smiled slightly, but didn't look up. Wetting one of her fingers, she gently swirled it around some delicate areas, and this time when she heard the sharply indrawn breath, she looked up and placed a kiss on the cleft in his chin, before asking him, "Did I hurt you, Lantash?"

He threw his head back and stared at the ceiling, for the briefest of moments, before bringing his gaze back to her. His determination to withstand her caresses without giving in and taking her straight to their bed, with little or no preliminary lovemaking made his voice strained and somewhat harsh, as he asked her, "Are you trying to drive us to our knees, Samantha? Because if you are, you are doing a wonderful job of it."

Sam blinked up at him in surprise, her lips slightly open and glistening in the low lighting. "Um, are you saying that you don't like it, when we touch you in this way? Please tell me. I wanted to give you pleasure, not discomfort, and Jolinar's memories tell me that you liked it before."

He smiled somewhat wryly, assuring her, "No, Samantha, you are not causing us discomfort…exactly. At least, not in the manner you mean it. Do you have no idea how alluring and enticing you are to us? Dear Goddess, _Mer Cor,_ simply standing next to you like this is enough to make us forget what we are doing, because the only thing we can think about is having you naked, warm, and willing beneath us. Every touch of your hands and your lips sends shocks of desire through us urging us to take you…at once." Reaching out, he stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers, before opening his hand and laying his palm against the side of her face. His other hand came up to cradle the other side and his thumbs caressed her with tenderness, conveying his love of them through his touch. "We do not wish to do that tonight. We do not want to hurry our lovemaking. We want to take our time loving you and Jolinar, Samantha. We want to revel in the feel of our lips on your skin and our hands on your body. We long to hear you moan our names, as we make love to you. Therefore, do not stop your ministrations_._ Come—love us,_ Pro`n Ma'tae. _Our desire for you is growing stronger; we hunger to feel your touch again, and we thirst for the taste of your lips."

She searched his eyes, and satisfied by what she saw there, she moved her hands back to the place she'd mentally marked. Rewetting her finger, she began her explorations once more. Jolinar's memories bombarded her, but she attempted to push them aside. Tactile memory was a wonderful thing, but she wanted to experience it anew, not from what was already there. She heard her Lifemate chuckle softly and turned her attention to her, for a moment, although her hands never faltered. _"Jol? What was that about?" _

"_Nothing in particular, Samantha. I am simply enjoying feeling these things through you, through your touch. I am enjoying the wonder and fascination you feel. The astonishment and delight that sweeps over you, as you realize, yet again, that these two fascinating, wonderful, and sexy beings belong to us. They are ours to touch, to taste, to scent, to look at, to listen to, and to revel in. Every time you touch them your emotions flow through us, and I feel as if I am with them, for the very first time. It is an incredibly awe-inducing and amazing feeling. I am savoring it. My laugh was from pure joy." _

"_Oh. I—I didn't misunderstand, then. I believed that you didn't want control, yet. You really don't want it? Are you sure?" _

"_I am absolutely sure, Samantha. In fact, you will find that I often prefer the inactive role of simply allowing myself to feel everything. I know it is lazy, but I am addicted to the feelings, the emotions that are generated. I find that I cannot give myself over to them so completely, if I am in the active role. However, I am perfectly all right with taking over, so that you may take the position of enjoying the full effect of the emotions and feelings, whenever you want to do that. I realize that we must be fair and share these things, no matter how much either of us likes one thing or the other. Regardless what we are talking about, be it sex, cooking, or reading a book, if we both enjoy the actual 'doing' of it, then we must share it and switch back and forth. As long as the other does not mind and has no real desire to 'do' something, it does not really matter. So, whenever you simply wish to feel the emotions and sensations, I will take over for you. I will let you know, if I wish to come fore, I assure you." _

Jolinar could feel the relief Sam felt, even before she told her, _"I am glad to know that." _She 'cleared' her throat, telling her, _"Actually, when it comes to sex, I think I prefer to be in control, although there are times, like when…" _unable to voice her preference, Sam sent her an image instead, and then continued, _"so I guess we should be able to work it out just fine." _

Jolinar smiled as she looked at the images, and replied, _"Since neither of us must do much in those particular circumstances, I foresee no problem." _

Sam blushed and turned her attention outward to find that she had continued her stroking, during their conversation, and Lantash was standing rigidly, as if afraid that if he moved at all it would be in the direction of the bed. She smiled and moved away from her present occupation and instead knelt and grasping the sides of his BDU pants, swept them to the floor and then encouraged him to step out of them—not that it took much urging.

_**Begin mild M **_

Finding herself at the perfect height, she leaned in and kissed him before beginning to give them her full attention.

His hands on her shoulders, he attempted to move her attention to something else, but she was not cooperating. Instead, her hands grasped him firmly. An occasional sharply indrawn breath or soft moan were the only sounds they made, until he felt he was at the end of his endurance, "Samantha, you must stop, now. I cannot continue to maintain control of myself."

Sam didn't answer verbally, but increased her efforts, instead. Lantash finally realized that she had no intention of stopping, his control snapped, and his fingers threaded into her hair to both anchor them, and to increase her rhythm. When he cried out, Sam tightened her hold on him, and savored the knowledge that she had taken him to release. He had lost that incredible control of his…for her.

He lowered them to their knees and kneeling next to her, he placed their foreheads together. "That was magnificent, _Mer Cor_. Martouf is basking in the afterglow, and I am almost completely enervated."

Sam smiled smugly, to herself and Jolinar, who was enjoying herself immensely. _"It is a compliment, Samantha, for Lantash rarely loses his self-control, or admits to being weakened. For him to say something like that, shows how very much it affected him. I am not saying it cannot be done. Actually, we can do it quite often; however, that is accomplished by caressing and stimulating Lantash directly, in the ways that I have shown you. Then, he loses all control. Therefore, that you managed to get this confession from him, for something as simple as a, ah—BJ? Yes?—that is something to savor and feel very good about." _

"_I'm very happy that he enjoyed it. I enjoyed pleasuring them, so I guess we're even. Enjoyment given and received in equal measure. However, be that as it may, I believe that it's time to move on. We still have our nightgown on! That can't be allowed to continue." _

At Jolinar's soft laugh, Sam turned her attention outward. His breath was calming. She was really glad that Jolinar had reminded her of the techniques she taught her.

"Lantash, could we stand up?"

He gave a short laugh, before nodding and getting to his feet and then helping her to stand. "There is that better?"

She smiled at him, and then she stepped close, breathing, "Yes, _Mer Cariad kea._ It is very much better, but now my lips are cold."

She allowed her hands to take ahold of his hips, to skim his slender waist, and across his ribs, before moving to his chest, and from there to his shoulders. She stepped even closer, until their bodies were barely apart, and began a soft kiss, but as he responded, she deepened it, until it was one of shared passion. She allowed their bodies to touch briefly, and felt his arms slide around her and pull her to him, until their bodies were joined from knee to lips. She slid her arms around his back, one hand going to the back of his neck, and the other only slightly lower.

Fully occupied, and getting his energy back, Lantash was too focused on the kiss and feel of her lips to notice what Sam was doing, and at first, her caresses were feather-light. Soon though, her strokes became firmer, and rather than general caresses, she followed Jolinar's instructions and concentrated on specific areas.

With an uncontrollable thrust of his hips into hers, and a moan of need escaping his lips, he raised his head and looked at her in a surprised way, as he realized what she was doing, what she had already accomplished. His body continued to ache to thrust and rub against her, even though he held himself still, and he grasped her chin, to keep her from looking away. A look between exasperation and amusement crossed his eyes, as he asked her, "Samantha, are you trying to drive Martouf and I out of our minds, or are you just experimenting to see how far we can be pushed before we take you as quickly and hard as we can? Because, you see, should you continue with your present activity, I can assure you that _is_ what you shall reap."

The look in his eyes showed her love and lust; it was a look of longing and desire, a promise that his words were true. It sent a shiver down her back. Should she continue? Did she want him to lose _all_ control? Did she want him _completely_ wild in her arms, or would she regret allowing, no—causing, that to happen? Was he warning her that he might hurt them?

"_No, Samantha, he is not. He would never deliberately hurt either of us. He is simply explaining, not very clearly, that if he takes us in that way, he will be without, ah—savoir-faire or finesse. When he says hard and fast that is exactly what he means. I have nothing against that, and I don't think that you do either." _

"_No. No, I don't have anything against it, at all. I like no holds barred sex. I…" she paused as she saw some memories and felt the emotions. "Rosha didn't like it. It scared her, because she was hurt once, before Lantash and Martouf, but she couldn't let it go and enjoy the two of them. You liked it, and so you only did it, when she was asleep. That's too bad, Jolinar, she missed out on some great sex, I'm sure." _

Jolinar sighed. "_Rosha could not stand the idea of sex without the accoutrements of love and romance. It always had to be with the love prominent probably because of her…rape, when she was young. They understood, but they missed it. She knew that, and it was her idea that we make love in that way when she was sleeping. They will not feel remorse and guilt with us, as they sometimes did about Rosha. They loved her deeply and would have avoided it completely had she asked it of them." _

"_I understand; both her fear and her solution. She loved them and she wanted them to be happy. I want them to be happy, too, so I think I can manage to live through his loss of control…actually, it isn't a 'loss of control' completely. My guess is that it is really a controlled 'loss of control'." _

Jolinar did not answer for a moment, but then told her softly, _"I did not think that you would see that, my Sam. For many years, I did not realize it. You have seen it much more quickly than I did. I am not sure that they even realize it themselves. Were they truly out of control, then they would probably hurt us, but they will not. So, what do you think?" _

"_I think that we should see if they still have a 'point of no return'." _

"_I believe that you should tease the dragon, my Sam. And then, we will ride the firestorm that follows." _

Sam nodded to her Lifemate and gave her attention back to her mates. She was still stroking him, but it was very lightly. Smiling up at him, she placed her lips close to his and began to caress him again, more firmly, as she whispered, "I think we can handle it, Lantash. Don't worry about it, just make-love to us."

"All right, but we need to change a few things first."

Sam leaned back and questioned him with her eyes and eyebrows. He smiled and before she could protest, she was in his arms and being carried to the bed. Setting her down beside it, he stepped back a short distance and looked at her. Smiling, he reached out, even as he told her, "It is quite lovely and sexy, but I think it is time for you and your gown to part company." The nightgown was missing before she realized his intentions. He threw it aside and it landed near the matching peignoir. Next, he pulled the covers on the bed back and down. Returning to her, he once more swept her up, only to deposit her in the center of the bed and follow her there. He laid on his side, and leaned on his forearm and elbow hovering over her, watching her responses. Then cocking his upper leg, he laid it across hers, effectively keeping her pinned to the bed.

Sam smiled up at him, undeterred from her purpose. She slid her arms back around him, and started over, allowing her fingers to find just the right places once more. He was going to fight it; she could see the determination in his eyes. She gave a mental shrug. He could try, but according to Jolinar, neither he nor Martouf had ever been successful in ignoring or overcoming direct stimulation to Lantash, especially when coupled with direct stimulation of Martouf. She kept her gaze pinned to his and watched as his eyes darkened. She'd never seen anyone's eyes actually do that, although you read about it all the time in novels. She watched them, fascinated for a time, before deciding that she needed to pay more attention to other things.

Kissing him would be difficult the way he was holding himself away from her. With her legs pinned to the bed, she couldn't scoot closer either. He was attempting to stop her from adding other physical stimulation to what she was doing with her hands. No lips on his body to incite his desires. No little nips or love bites. No nibbling, laving, or kissing. Okay, she could do this. Continuing her caresses on the back of his neck with one hand, she slowly moved the other to the side of his face. Since he was watching her closely, she licked her lips with the tip of her tongue, leaving them glistening. She used her thumb, gliding it across his lips, her touch barely there. He leaned into her hand, kissing her thumb gently, before nipping it lightly.

She slowly allowed her hand to move away from his lips, faintly brushing his throat, and smoothing across his shoulder. She followed the line of his arm down, until it touched his waist. Her other hand changed its rhythm, and pressure, satisfactorily pulling his arm away and allowing her access to the more sensitive parts of him. While his attention was taken by the ever more intensifying pleasure she was giving directly to him, she took other matters in hand. As soon as she began gliding her hand up and down the length of him, she once again changed the rhythm she was using on Lantash, so that the caresses were the same. They were neither so slow as to be frustrating, nor so fast as to finish things before they actually began. Still using his distraction, she managed to flip him off her legs and bending one of her own, she was able to keep him from pinning her again. She also encouraged him to lie down, and as he did, she used every wile she'd ever tried, been told about, read about, or that Jolinar suggested, as she turned her attention to driving him to lose all control.

"_It will not be very long now, my Sam. His breathing has changed, and all of his muscles are tensed. Soon he will turn on us and begin to make some very exciting love to us. Nor will he be alone in his need to reach his peak, for he will bring us with him. Do not stop stimulating Lantash. You may safely release Martouf when the time arrives, but continue to caress Lantash." _

"_I understand. Whether or not I will be able to continue once he begins to distract me, though, is yet to be seen." _

_Jolinar gave a quiet laugh. "I will do what I can to help you, my Sam, though I must admit that he is very talented, and it will be very hard to keep our focus. We must hope that he is to a point where he has little control left, and once he starts making love to us; our response to his abilities should be enough to finish what we have started." _

"_All right. I think I'll head south again. That seemed to rev him up before." _

"_Yes, that is one of his triggers. Just as our throat is one of ours. He enjoys the feel of our lips on him in that area, as well." _

Sam nodded her agreement and turned her lips to travel upward leaving his chest, his skin smooth and almost luminous in the faint light from the two small lamps she'd left on earlier. She stopped at his throat to enjoy his gasps of pleasure, as she left her mark upon him. As she moved slowly upward again, she was suddenly shocked to hear a growl issue from Lantash's throat. Suddenly she was on her back, her hands pinned beside her head.

He watched her for a very brief time, before swooping down and locking onto her throat in the exact place that a large love-bite now resided on his. He did not stay long, but instead moved to her jawline spreading small whispering kisses along it, before moving up and claiming her mouth in a deeply passionate kiss. Long drugging kisses followed the first one, and she didn't even notice, when he slid to one side of her and released one of her hands. Making no stops during his downward movement, he quickly cupped her. The rhythm he set up was one that would push her quickly forward, and she was soon gasping much as he had been. Her loosened hand, found its way back to Lantash, and she matched the rhythm she used on him to the one he was using on her. When she realized that she was very close to going over the top, she changed the rhythm she was using to the one that Jolinar assured her would see him finally abandoning all restraint.

She was correct and, within minutes, he was back above her. This was no gentle, careful lovemaking. This was mating pure and simple. Their moans of encouragement to one another, and the feel of their bodies was all that entered their awareness. He pushed her toward her peak…as well as the head of the bed.

Feeling himself nearing completion, he reached between them. Sam tossed her head and gasped as she felt herself rushing toward the edge. They leapt over it together, and he collapsed onto her, his breathing rapid and heavy.

_**End mild M**_

Sam was drifting a little, not really aware at first, but it cleared some and she realized that breathing was somewhat difficult. Since her mind was still a little clouded, it took her a minute to figure out why, but when she did, she brought her hands up and to his shoulder, pushing against him feebly and making no inroads on rousing him or getting his attention.

As she began to take stock, she became aware of discomfort in a few other places. He had his arms locked behind her knees, which meant that she was practically folded in half.

She was getting a cramp in her left hip, she couldn't breathe because he was lying on top of her, and her head had made it to the top of the bed where it was pressed against the headboard, and her neck was bent. His breathing was slowing, so she decided to try again. She pushed against his shoulders again, this time with a slight increase in strength, but he was completely limp and the only response she was getting was an unintelligible grunt. She wasn't sure how to get out of this and began to wonder if he was asleep. That would have to be some kind of record, if he was. He hadn't even slipped to the side before he lost it. Poking at Jolinar, she realized that she was in torpor and wondered if perhaps Lantash was, too. She groaned at that thought.

She heard a faint moan from the body on top of her, and it gave her hope. "Lantash? Lantash!"

"Yes, Samantha? What do you need, my love?"

"Well, being able to breathe would be a nice start. Do you think you could move off me? I've got a cramp in my hip and a crick in my neck.

Lantash pushed himself up and glanced around. Suddenly understanding that Samantha literally could not move, he quickly sat up, releasing her legs, and grasping her hips, he pulled her down in the bed, thereby relieving the pressure on her head and neck.

Sam sent him a mischievous smile, asking, "Next time can we start lower in the bed?"

He lay down beside her, and smiling in return, he assured her, "I will be sure that we do so, Samantha. I am sorry that I went into torpor so heavily…and so quickly."

She nodded her understanding. "Jolinar went into it immediately, too."

"I do not doubt that at all. It was a very intense bout of lovemaking. I am sorry if I hurt you at all."

"You didn't. I enjoyed it very much. I'm already looking forward to experiencing it again. Perhaps not tonight, but soon, I promise."

"I am glad that you do not have your heart set upon it, my love, for I am not sure that we could accommodate you tonight."

"I'm sure you could manage, but I'm just as sure that I couldn't do it." She sent him another smile, and then swung her legs out of bed. Standing, she grimaced, until she noticed that there were some tissues being thrust into her hands. "Thank you. I'll be right back."

"Take your time, Samantha; there is no need to hurry. We will be here when you return."

She sent him a dazzling smile and made her way to the bathroom. She'd never considered that being, well—married—she supposed, would work this well with the nature of her job. She couldn't have found a better solution and lover, if she'd gone out and deliberately looked for one. Finished with her body's needs and her ablutions, she returned to the other room.

She walked soundlessly to the foot of the bed and stood there…doing nothing more than watching them. They were on top of the rumpled bed covers, their eyes closed, one arm curved upward, and lying under their head, which was turned slightly toward the side of the bed, on which she would lie down. The other arm lay at their side, their hand relaxed with the fingers open instead of curled into a fist indicating just how very relaxed they were. Their body was turned very slightly toward her side of the bed, and the leg that would be nearest to her was bent at the knee with his foot lying under his other leg. He was totally relaxed, except for a certain portion of his anatomy. That was amazing in itself, after two such intense lovemaking sessions where they peaked hard both times.

She smiled softly at the unintentionally erotic pose, and Jolinar awoke from her torpor, joining her in her unashamed enjoyment of gazing at them. He was certainly a handsome man, but more important than that was that he was also handsome on the inside. She hadn't known him long herself, but the centuries that Jolinar had known him, and the century that they had been joined, showed her that he was everything that he appeared to be. He truly was handsome, kind, gentle, extremely intelligent, no doubt reaching her and Daniel's level with ease, and then surpassing them, loving, logical, and just plain wonderful. And Martouf shared every one of those attributes in equal quantities. He, too, was everything she could possibly have wanted in a mate, a partner, and a lover.

Jolinar reminded her softly, _"We must also admit to Lantash's other side, Samantha, the side that is Goa'uld. He can kill the enemy, without a second thought, but then so can most soldiers…at least, with very few second thoughts, for the most part. He is capable of torture; he can close himself off from any of the gentler feelings, if it is necessary. He can slit your throat in a heartbeat, if you threaten him, anything he considers his, or the base and the other Tok'Ra. He is sometimes impatient, has a razor-sharp, sarcastic tongue, and he has a seriously vicious temper; although, he would never take it out on a woman, regardless the reason. He must be the most stubborn being I have ever met, and once his mind is made up, it is as if it were set in stone. Only very good reasons, sound logic, and/or proof that he is incorrect will cause him to change it. His anger is quick to come and at times, just as quick to go, though not always. And last, but by far not the least, he is arrogant, and has to actively work to keep that trait inside. He has become less so over the years, so perhaps there is still hope. Martouf, on the other hand, has almost no arrogance in him and that tempers Lantash." _

Sam answered, after thinking over her comments,_ "Well, Jolinar, if arrogance is his worst personality trait, besides the sharp tongue, and vicious temper, I'm pretty sure that I can live with it. I might have to point it out to him on occasion, but I think I can handle it." _

Jolinar agreed with her and then continued to explain the two beings, _"Martouf does not share these traits, except for a few. He finds applying torture almost beyond him, no matter how important it is to do it, and he tends to allow Lantash to cut him off from it, if they are in a position where it is necessary. He cannot completely close himself off from gentler feelings. He can slit your throat, for the same reasons that Lantash can, and he is rarely impatient, unlike Lantash. He has a temper that is worse than Lantash's, for Lantash has his under complete control, whereas Martouf, though he would never hurt a woman, tends to break inanimate things. Like Lantash, he has learned to control his anger, but unlike Lantash, his control over it lasts only up to a certain point. It almost never comes out, but when it does, you can expect broken things. He has to be under a great deal of stress to allow it out, whereas Lantash allows his out fairly often, simply because he controls it. He is just as stubborn as Lantash is, so they are doubly stubborn, something that drives me to total exasperation with them. Once either of them get an idea in their heads, it is almost impossible to remove it. However, Martouf is an excellent diplomat, as is Lantash, if he can be convinced to take on that role. His tendency to allow his temper out has to be curbed during those types of missions, and it leaves him feeling—cranky._"

Sam almost giggled aloud at Jolinar's final statement. But then, she quickly returned to her perusal of their body, and the information that Jolinar was giving to her.

Her attention was caught by Jolinar as she began to explain more about the two beings that they loved so deeply. _"Lantash is afraid of very little, and I would probably call him fearless. He is an excellent operative, doing whatever he has to do to accomplish his mission. However, he will not follow orders blindly, as some of the Tok'Ra will. If he feels that what the Council wants is wrong, he will not do it. I am speaking of things such as Colonel O'Neill did when he refused to carry out his order to destroy Abydos the first time they went there. I am not talking about small things, things that he may disagree with, but which will have no major results or affect anyone, in a negative way. The Council never sends him on a mission he disagrees with, for they know that he will not carry out their agenda. Over the years, he has been proven correct, in what he felt the results would be, and things have turned out, exactly as he predicted they would. It is one of the reasons that many on the Council will welcome him, and also, why they often seek his Counsel. Lantash is a very strong being, in a physical sense, a mental sense, and an emotional sense. Martouf shares these traits, however, he does not have the iron control over his emotions that Lantash usually has. There is nothing wrong with that, and truth to tell, his control over his emotions is actually very impressive, even if it is not as hardened as Lantash's is. Of course, Lantash has had two thousand years in which to learn that control."_

Sam sent her understanding, before glancing at the sleeping forms again. They appeared comfortable, and so she made her way to a nearby chair, and curled up in it. She gathered her thoughts, then turned her attention to Jolinar and told her, _"I…Jolinar, I can't believe I've fallen, so far into love, so fast. Is it because of your love for them? Do I not really love them, but since you do, it appears that I do as well?" _

Jolinar was quiet for quite some time before she spoke, softly, telling her, _"I cannot truly answer that question, my Sam. I have never been in your position. I will tell you that it is why we attempt to withhold our own emotions, at first, so that our Lifemate can come to know and care for their new mate. I believe that you were very attracted to them, even before we knew they were our mates, so at that point; we know you were not influenced by my emotions." _

"_I still kept my emotions back from you, as much as I could, even after we found out that they were our mates, and you continued to care more for them. To me this means that you were on your way to loving them, then, and, if you will remember, you were sure you loved them a few days ago. I see no reason that your love would have stopped developing. As far as I know, they have not disgusted or repelled you. You enjoy their lovemaking and being with them. In fact, we both look forward to being with them. And I am not speaking of making love. I am speaking of looking for them to enter a door and walk into a room. As soon as they appear, the entire area is brighter and happier, although nothing has really changed about it." _

"_Yeah, I suppose you're right. It just, you know, bothers me sometimes. Don't be upset, but it's almost as if my will is gone, and I have to feel what you feel, whether I want to or not." _

"_Ah, I see. You have heard us say that we love as one, and we mourn as one. Do not take it quite so literally, my Sam. Yes, we do love as one. Our emotions blend and so, we love as one. However, there is a caveat to this. It only works this way, if we wish it to. If you had taken either of them in dislike, then it would have been very difficult to change your feelings. Just as you can make the blending difficult or easy, you can refuse to feel what I feel, just as I can refuse to feel what you feel. It is the intent with which one approaches anything." _

_She paused, thinking, before saying, "Do you remember my first taste of coffee? I disliked it intensely. Your feelings about it are very different. You almost have a love affaire with it. Now, I could have continued to dislike it intensely, but that made no sense, as it would only have caused problems. You would feel guilty for 'forcing' me to drink it, or you would have resented having to stop drinking it. So, our emotions were totally different, and they would have remained that way, except that I made a conscious decision to learn to like it. So every time you drink coffee, I allow your feelings for the flavor to enter my own emotion. As you are aware, I have come to a point, where I am thinking more kindly of it. Soon we will love coffee as one. Do you see what I mean?" _

"_Love is not so different. Had you taken them in dislike, my emotions would never have entered yours, and you would have retained your dislike of them. Perhaps over time you would have learned to like them better, when you saw things about them that you liked. But you did not dislike them; you were drawn to them rather strongly. You began to love them as you, Samantha Carter. Since you were not against them, your own emotions accepted mine, and so they were incorporated into your own. For us, we love as one and we will mourn as one. So, it is true that we do love as one; however, that is a choice, not an absolute. Does this help any at all?" _

It was Sam's turn to sit quietly and think before turning back to Jolinar, and telling her, _"I understand it better now…and, something else occurred to me, as I was thinking about it. You said that my emotions take yours and blend them. So in essence, you are correct, and I did accept your feelings for them. But something else occurred to me. I, me, Samantha Carter, feel these emotions. There is no maybe, might, or could about it. It occurred to me that, if I feel them, then it doesn't really matter whose they were to begin with because they are now mine. I feel them; whether or not they started out as yours or as mine, no longer matters. They are mine and I accept them. And that is that." _

Jolinar indicated that she understood what Sam was saying. _"I think that is very true, Samantha. You are feeling these things. All you must do is claim them as your own, and they are your own." _

Sam uncurled her legs from beneath her, and stood. _"Let's go see if we can give our lovers a wakeup call, if they haven't recovered yet. What do you say?" _

"_I believe that, while you were thinking so deeply, they went to the facilities and cleaned up. I think we will find them awaiting our return. Probably very impatiently." _

She turned around from where she stood up and saw that Jolinar was indeed right. They were leaning against the headboard. They even had the sheet drawn over them, sort of, so she guessed it was an attempt not to embarrass her. She hoped that, after what just took place between them that her embarrassment would be a thing of the past anyway.

"_Martouf and Lantash are not overly modest, no." _

Sam laughed softly, as she walked toward the bed. _"I never would have known if you hadn't told me, Jol." _

Jolinar grinned back at her, as she pulled her gown up, so that she could get into bed. Sam gave Martouf a smile, asking, "Has Lantash awakened, yet? Jolinar is up and around."

"Yes, he is very much awake. Come lie down beside us, Samantha. Let us simply hold you close to us for a time. I know that we should be readying for sleep, however, I am not sleepy, and you do not look as if you are either."

She shook her head no. "No, I'm not sleepy. In fact, I feel full of energy. I would imagine it will catch up to us all at once."

"I am quite sure that it will." He agreed with her comments, as she snuggled up to his side. His hand found its way to the neckline of her gown, and one of his fingers ran slowly along its edge a few times, before his hand slipped down to cup a breast. She heard the sharp intake of breath, just before he pulled his hand away. "You are like an addiction to us. We see you, and all we can do is think about touching you."

She looked at him, and he could tell that whatever she was going to say, it was a serious thing. "If that's true, Martouf, then we can't be on the same SG team. You can't allow yourself to be distracted by me or anything else. All of our lives depend on all of us giving a hundred and twenty-five percent."

He wanted to discuss her comments, but first he had to know why she gave an odd number of percentages for them to give. He could not let it go; he had to ask, "Samantha, why did you give such an odd percentage?"

She grinned at him, her face and eyes alight with mischief, before she answered his question, "Because, we have to take up the slack that Daniel leaves. He rarely notices anything around him, unless it is very old, long dead, or written in some obscure language that neither he nor anyone else on Earth has ever seen or heard of before."

His eyes lit up and he laughed aloud, nodding. "I have only been here a few days, and yet, I believe that I was already aware of that. It is just such an integral part of him that, he would seem incomplete without it. So, I believe that I was aware of it, but had not yet had cause to put it into words. Lantash agrees with me." He stopped talking for a moment and his voice sobered, as he told her, "I should tell you that Lantash will be very protective of Daniel Jackson."

Sam looked startled and immediately asked for clarification, "Why? Why would he be more protective of him? Well, other than, he isn't a soldier. Of course, that's reason enough, really, and that's why we all protect him. Well, and because we all love him. He really is a wonderful person."

"Daniel Jackson is very much like an old friend of Lantash's. He was quite a bit older than Lantash, a Goa'uld that came over to Egeria's side. He was just as absent minded, as our Daniel is. He studied history. Historical buildings, caves, temples, anything that was old, would find him there, completely lost to the world around him. He spoke a great many languages, and he would talk to people from different cultures, as long as he could, before they pulled him away. He was kind and caring. He would do anything that was within his power to do for a friend, and he did not lie. Lantash still misses him upon occasion when something reminds him of _Set'tash_ and _Aethelon_. Daniel even looks very much like him, Samantha. All of these things will weigh on Lantash, and he will take a great interest in protecting him, I assure you."

"I have to assume that something happened to him?" Sam asked, although she was fairly sure that she knew the answer.

"Yes. They were on an unoccupied world, where they found some ancient Temples. He was working on some translations when Jaffa arrived. There were only three Tok'Ra there, and many more Jaffa than they could dispense alone. They could tell by the number of footprints that they were badly outnumbered."

"I'm sorry. I know how much it hurts to lose a friend."

Martouf's eyes glowed, and Lantash came fore, accepting her condolences. "Thank you, Samantha. It was a very long time ago now. However, Daniel Jackson does resemble him to the point that it is almost eerie. Believers in reincarnation would no doubt swear that he is one and the same." He smiled at her, and hurried on before she could comment, saying, "But, must we speak of long lost friends? I would rather feel your lips upon mine, _Mer FyCariadon kea. _Or talk of something that is filled with less sorrow. Perhaps like our future, and what it means to Martouf and I that Jolinar has finally accepted her Council seat and both of you will now be with us more often than she was before she took it."

Jolinar came fore and reached out to caress his face. "I am sorry I did not listen to you, Lantash. I should not have gone on that last mission, although in the end it is for the best. Cordesh could have done a great deal more damage than he did, and we might not have found him for a very long time."

"Rosha and I missed you very much. More than we ever have before, I believe. It often felt as if a piece of us was missing. That piece is now in place. You are back in my arms, in Samantha's arms. She loves you herself, Lantash, not only from my emotions. I think we decided that, since she was so very attracted to you, before we knew what you were to us. She was concerned that the love was all mine, and not really hers, but I believe that she has worked through those thoughts and beliefs. Now that you are aware of that, let us move on to some happier topics."

He smiled at her, agreeing, "Very well, Jolinar. Tell me, how do you believe the new hosts will turn out? Do you believe that it will work?"

"I do. If we are careful and make sure that they understand what they are getting into, then I see no problems." She frowned, as she listened to Sam.

"_There is still the problem of families. They haven't decided on exactly who will be told. Wives or husbands are the first concern and then older children. And then parents. The Tok'Ra probably won't want a bunch of kids running around the tunnels. I would assume that a wife with no children would be accepted, as a mate would be. Our government will have to make some tough decisions. It's one thing for a husband or wife to be in one of the specialty branches of the service. It won't last the rest of their lives, so they'll eventually put it behind them. But this is forever. It won't be going away. I think they are going to have to brief them and give them a chance to go or stay." _

"_Yes, you are very right, Samantha. It is something that they must decide upon soon. I believe that the first candidates we get will be unmarried. It makes sense to take them first, as it will be less likely to be a problem." _

Jolinar turned back to Lantash, saying, "Samantha was pointing out what could prove to be a stumbling block. Wives, children, and parents. As you are aware, the people of this world know nothing about the Chaappa'ai, or aliens. Their government still has to decide who they will tell and who they will not. Samantha believes that at the least they must tell wives or husbands as the case may be. It may even have to be a joint decision between husband and wife. There are still many things for us to do and accomplish. This is a new type of venture for us, Lantash. It is new in every way. Never have we actually sent people to join and live with a new ally. Never before have we had a chance to have hosts waiting rather than having to look for one and hoping against hope that one will be found in time. Although I miss Rosha…I must confess that I believe that something very good came out of her death. I would not be here, and we would not now be allied with the Tau'ri. I believe it is a goodness, and that we will find that the Universe has blessed us."

Lantash nodded, as he gave thought to her words, and he was surprise when Jolinar addressed him again. "Lantash, I am still somewhat tired. I know it is not like me, however, neither is it unheard of for me to be totally _'wiped out'_, as my Sam would say, after I have gone through something as traumatic as this has been…for many months, now. From the time that Cordesh alerted Cronus to our presence, I have been under a great deal of stress, and I have had a great deal of trouble sleeping, sometimes going for days at a time without sleep. I have talked to Janet about it and also to Arwanna. She checked me over thoroughly and agreed with Janet. Physically, I am fine; however the mental and emotional turmoil, the constantly needing to be alert to attack, just everything all together, now that I am finally safe, is telling me to sleep, rest, and sleep some more. Would you be terribly insulted, if I went to sleep now?"

Leaning down he kissed her very softly, assuring her, "No, _Mer Cor_, I would not mind. I am quite sure that you are in need of the extra rest. I know how you usually respond to being under stress for long stretches. I have no problem with speaking to Samantha."

She reached up and twining her fingers into his hair, she kissed him deeply. "Thank you, my love. I do appreciate it. Goodnight." As she whispered the last word, her eyes gleamed and Sam came forward.

"_Goodnight, Jolinar. Um, did you want to be awakened if we, ah, well, if we make love again?" _

"_No, thank you, Samantha. I may awaken on my own, but if I do not, then do not bother to awaken me. I may, and probably will, awaken Lantash or Martouf later in the night and spend some time with one of them, so I will miss nothing, I assure you." _

"_Very well. I'll allow you to continue to sleep. May your dreams be pleasant." _

"_Thank you. Goodnight, my Sam." _

Sam looked up into Lantash's eyes, and smiled at him, saying, "I'm sorry. I was saying goodnight to Jolinar."

"I suspected that was what was happening. There is no need to apologize, Samantha. If you do so every time you speak to Jolinar, you will spend a great deal of time just doing that. We all understand, and it is an accepted part of our lives."

"Yes, I suppose that's true. I wasn't looking at it from that point of view, but I can see that you're correct. I'll try to remember not to do it."

"Good." He leaned down and kissed her, whispering, "We love you and are looking forward to spending our time with you. With both of you." He gave her a small smile and asked, "Are you looking forward to what lies ahead of us, Samantha? I realize much of it will be routine to you, but to us, it will be an entirely new way to do reconnaissance and search for weapons to use against the Goa'uld."

"I'll admit that most of the time it's pretty routine, but when it's not, it really goes FUBAR."

"FUBAR? What is this?"

"It, um, means…Fouled up beyond all repair."

Knowing she was not telling the entire truth, he decided to let it drop. Obviously, something about it made her slightly uncomfortable. He would ask Teal'c or Daniel. "I see. Interesting."

"Yeah, well, that's how it goes around the SGC. Things can go south very quickly." She smiled at him, adding, "You'll see what I mean, I'm sure. Give it time."

"I do not doubt you, Samantha. I suspect that disruptions are fairly regular."

"You're right."

They lay quietly for a moment, before Lantash asked her, "Do you believe that you will enjoy being a host?"

Sam moved down in the bed, and encouraged him to follow her, which he did. Once they were situated with nice soft pillows under their heads, she moved closer than she could when they were both leaning against the headboard, which became hard after a while. She cuddled up to him and then answered him briefly, "Yes."

As he frowned down at her, she raised her head, and smiled at him. "Yes, Lantash, I am quite sure that I will and am enjoying being a host. I enjoy Jolinar. I like her company, her sense of humor, her knowledge, and her personality. If something were to happen to her, I would be devastated."

He smiled down and her, saying, "Thank you, Samantha. I would find it very difficult if you were not happy. Your happiness has become very important to Martouf and I. Our love for you has grown swiftly, until now you mean so much to us that only the thought that you might be less than happy bothers us greatly."

"There is nothing to be worried over. I'm quite happy to be with Jolinar." She paused for a moment. There was something in the back of her mind that was nagging at her. Had they been talking about something that was never finished? Yes, they had. She turned farther over, throwing a leg across Lantash and leaning on him, as she raised herself on her elbow. "Lantash, we were talking about what Martouf said about not being able to concentrate when you are around me. If that is true, then…"

He pressed his fingers to her lips, and then explained, "He did not mean all the time, Samantha. I will let him explain himself in a moment, if you still wish it, but I will tell you what I believe to be true." He paused and gathered his thoughts, before telling her, "When we are on a mission, other things do not interfere with our concentration." He smiled wryly, as he continued, "Would we still want you while we are on a mission? Of course. Will we allow you to invade our minds and override all other considerations? Of course not. Are you a distraction? Most of the time, yes. But, and that is an important but, _Not_ while we are on a mission. It would be folly to allow ourselves to become so enraptured by your presence that we lost all concentration. If for no other reason, Samantha, we will not allow our need and desire for you to take over our minds during missions because to do so could cause your death. That is what will be in the forefront of our minds, while we are on a mission. We could get you killed, if we are less than…ah, a hundred and twenty-five percent…alert. So, please put it out of your mind. It will not happen. As for what he meant, I will allow him to tell you himself." Leaning forward he kissed her quickly before lying back down. He gave her another slight smile and added, "You are, however, always on my mind. You may not be taking the center of my thoughts, but you are there in the back of my mind. And that is not a bad thing at all. I know, too, that you are always on Martouf's mind. It is not something that will cause us to be distracted; you and Jolinar are always a presence there."

Sam watched as they traded places. Martouf smiled quickly, as soon as he had complete control. "I am sorry that I worried you, Samantha. I must also apologize for not answering that question of yours earlier. We began to talk of other things, and I am afraid that I forgot it. So, to reassure you, _Pro`n Ma'tae_, Lantash is correct. Missions are not a place where we would allow our thoughts to linger on you, much as we would like to do so. Should we be so reckless and irresponsible, as to allow our concentration and alertness to wander, and be less than it should be, then we might get _all_ of us killed. The thought of losing you through our own carelessness is not acceptable. As Lantash told you, there is nothing for you to worry about, I promise you."

Sam smiled at him. "I'm glad. I'm looking forward to working with you." She looked down for a moment, before lifting her head and gazing into his eyes. "I'm looking forward to doing a lot of things with you and Lantash, Martouf. I look forward to waking up in the morning with you next to me. I look forward to doing all kinds of every day, mundane things with you. I look forward to looking at the stars with you, and watching a storm cross over the mountains. I want to know you both, and I look forward to being as we are now, and listening as you tell me of your life before I entered it. I want to know everything from your favorite color to your favorite food. I want to know everything about the two of you, and I look forward to the times we spend together, as I learn those things. I know that I could learn them from Jolinar, but I don't want to do that. I want to learn about you, from you. I want to walk into our future together."

Martouf gave her his sweetest smile, the one that caused her to want to melt. "I, too, am looking forward to learning of you, Samantha, as is Lantash." He reached up and brushed her hair aside from where it had fallen over her forehead. "We are looking forward to all of the things which you mentioned. And we are looking forward to experiencing life here on the Tau'ri world with you as our guide and mentor in all things, er, American, as well as Tau'ri.

Daniel has begun to teach us of the Tau'ri world. Of this country, how young it is, of the other countries, both allies and enemies. We have started with the beginnings of this country and the one above us, Canada, I believe, and he said that the first people to settle this world were considered to be European, but that there were native people already here. Many of today's citizens come from that area of the world; however, he has also explained that the United State is called a 'melting pot', because people from all over the world have come here to start a new life. Not all stay within their own ethnic group, but marry outside of it, which mixes and melts the people together, as does the fact that they all live in this country together, many nationalities merging into one new one…American, or in the case of your neighboring country, Canadians. He said that many, many countries take in other nationalities, but Canada and the United States have been populated almost entirely by other nationalities, since only the American Indians were here before the Europeans came and settled here. It is very interesting to us, my love; however I can see that it is perhaps not your favorite subject, so we will resume our previous discussion."

Sam gave him a wide smile and a quick kiss on the cleft in his chin, as he returned to their previous discussion, saying, "We look forward to meeting Dr. Kennedy and the first of the possible hosts. We look forward to working with you on the Advisory Council and eventually the High Council." He paused for a short time, before saying, very softly, "And we look forward to the day that you become our Queen, should it ever happen." He reached up and gave her a sweet and lingering kiss, just after saying that. After searching her eyes, and evidently being satisfied by what he read there, he continued, "There are exciting things in our future, my love. Some will happen soon, and some will happen later, but whatever, wherever, and whenever they happen; we will face them, see them, and live them together. That is our promise to you and Jolinar."

He pulled her lips towards his, and soon they settled, at first, as light as a butterfly. But as they drank from one another, the kiss deepened. He sat up and helped her to do the same. Then he stated, as he carefully moved it from under her and swept it over her head, "This is a truly lovely gown, Samantha; however, did we not remove it once already tonight? I distinctly remember Lantash flinging it halfway across the room."

A soft laugh was his only answer, as her mouth was too busy placing kisses across his shoulder, up his throat, and across his jawline, to answer him verbally. He lowered her back onto the bed, and pulled away from the heat of her mouth, even though he did not want to. He gazed his fill at her. She was so beautiful. And she was theirs. She was their mate, and they had a lifetime to discover everything there was to know about her. But first, they would practice making love to her. You could never get too much practice; he and Lantash definitely agreed on that.

Soon soft moans interspersed with quiet words filled their room. They were lost in a world of their own. The world they were building for one another. The one they were building together.

Martouf gazed at her, love shining from his eyes, before he lowered his lips to hers once again, and breathed across them, "We love you and Jolinar, Samantha, more than our own lives. This is our vow to you and Jolinar. We will be with you and love you, forever."

Sam gazed back at him, drowning in his eyes, and he could see the love gleaming within her eyes for them, as she murmured softly, "As we love you, Martouf, you, and Lantash. We will love you, until the very end of time and beyond. This is our vow to you and Lantash. We will be with you and love you, forever."

_The End_

_Thank you for reading. Feedback would be appreciated, and don't forget to leave me a note telling me what you would like to see resolved in a sequel. _

_Pagan_


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